Polish retailer of consumer leather goods Wittchen, will open the first store in Romania within the ParkLake Shopping Center in Bucharest, developed by Portugal’s real estate services provider Sonae Sierra. Romania is the 6th market where Wittchen is present. The brand already has stores in Poland (97), Czechia (7), and Hungary (3), with 10 franchised stores in Ukraine as well, while also boasting thriving e-shops in multiple European countries.
With over 32 years of experience, Wittchen has become an established family run company, one of the most recognizable brands on the European market, with the brand offering luggage, travel accessories and premium leather goods. The company was founded in 1990 by Jędrzej Rafał Wittchen, who runs it with his wife Monika. How did it all begin? Jędrzej Wittchen was a young boy when his grandfather gave him a unique gift – a beautiful, old leather wallet. Since then, the young man has started to appreciate the beauty of leather goods and its timeless quality. When a few years later, he had to decide what to do in life, he knew he wanted to make beautiful and durable leather goods.
“Our business and expansion plans in Romania imply opening stores in the best performing shopping centers in the country, as we recognize the opportunities, we have to be the no.1 brand in terms of selling premium goods at affordable prices” Daniel Andruszkiewicz, Commercial Director Wittchen said in a statement.
Wittchen leased a space in ParkLake Shopping Center through a transaction brokered by the Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, one of the global leaders in commercial real estate services, with 52,000 employees in over 60 countries and $ 10.1 billion in revenue.
“Romania is an attractive market for Central and Eastern European retailers, in a region where local entrepreneurs have managed to build strong brands with an active presence throughout the continent, including Romania. In just a few years, the larger retail groups, especially those from Poland, have become important players on the Romanian market. This success encourages other companies, which are not yet active in the country, to expand their business in this part of Europe, and Wittchen is just one of these examples” Dana Radoveneanu, Head of Retail Agency, Cushman & Wakefield Echinox stated.
In 2022, Wittchen achieved a sales revenue of approximately 86.6 million euros. This is an increase of 42.7 percent compared to the previous year. The net profit also increased year-over-year, amounting to over 13.4 million euros.
