From a small rented workshop to one of the largest furniture manufacturers in the country: the story of Ruse-based Irim follows the path of a classic family business that not only survives crises but also expands and looks to the future. Today the company has an annual turnover of 100 million levs (50 million euro) and employs 500 people. It manufactures primarily case furniture, which is sold mainly in Bulgaria but also in 15 other European countries. The next round of expansion is already in the plans.
Entering the market
The business was founded by Ivan Ivanov and his wife, Rositsa Ivanova, together with two other people who started making custom furniture in a garage workshop in northwestern Bulgaria in 1990. Two years later the partners withdrew and the family moved the business to the city of Ruse, on the Danube, where they rented premises and installed machines. After working as a sole trader for several years, in 2004 Ivanov registered Irim as a limited liability company.
In the meantime the business went through its first trial - the financial crisis in Bulgaria of 1996/97 - but it also made its first significant step forward despite the odds. In 1997 the company rented a larger space, opened its own store in Ruse and signed contracts to offer its furniture in retail outlets in other cities. That put the beginning of Irim's distribution network, which today comprises over 320 stores of about 250 dealers across the country.
Growing the business
A crucial year was 2006, when the company built its own factory in the western industrial zone of Ruse. The first large machines were also purchased at that time, allowing the company to start mass production - a model it developed in the following years - which proved decisive for its growth. Seven years later, Irim doubled its space by building a second, highly automated workshop and additional warehouses.
A key project was the construction of a huge new warehouse for finished products in 2017, which allowed Irim to increase its capacity, expand its product range and guarantee extremely short delivery times. It could now operate at full capacity year-round, including during the much slower first half of the year, and store finished products to meet strong demand in the second half of the year.
The construction of a third workshop for MDF detail wrapping in 2018 was also an important milestone for the company, allowing it to expand its range and sell higher added-value products. The workshop is also equipped with a special glue-spraying robot that is similar to those used in the automotive industry.
An investment in solar panels mounted on the roof of the facility in 2021 also proved timely. "It was a great stroke of luck because soon after we did it, the electricity price skyrocketed. The photovoltaic park has largely helped us optimize our costs and continues to do so," sales representative Augustin Petrov told journalists.
Since the start of the business, investments have amounted to some 35 to 40 million levs in total, estimates Nikolay Ivanov, one of the founder's sons. Together with his brother Anatoly Ivanov he took over the management of Irim in 2020. The father remains majority owner with 94%.
Extensive network
The company maintains a very large product range. It has two own stores in Ruse but Petrov says they are kept for image purposes and do not serve customers from other localities. Elsewhere, the company relies on a wide network of distributors and works with all major furniture chains under its own brand.
One of its advantages over other market players is the extremely short delivery time. "For Sofia, for example, orders placed by 1 pm on Monday are delivered by noon on Thursday," explains Petrov. Irim also has its own trucks for transportation.
Bulgaria remains the main market with 64% of sales. The remaining 36% comes from exports to 15 countries in Europe, with the strongest markets being the neighboring countries - Romania, Greece, North Macedonia and Serbia.
Future plans
As the business expands, so do the company's sales, with revenue reaching 84.1 million levs in 2022 (70.7 million levs in 2021). Preliminary data for 2023 show a turnover of about 100 million levs. This year's sales are also up, although Petrov says the market is not that strong and demand has decreased. "Fortunately, we do not feel the decline. We are constantly looking for people and expanding," he adds.
Currently the company employs about 500 people but finding workers is not so easy, as there is practically no unemployment in Ruse. Therefore Irim plans to hire workers from Nepal and Bangladesh.
In the long term, the solution to workforce shortage is even greater automation. The company will rely on it in its future expansion. Irim owns 5 ha of land in Ruse and some of it is free. The next building, which will include a production workshop, a warehouse and a packaging facility, is planned to be built on part of the plot. "It will be highly robotized and there we really want to have very few people," Nikolay Ivanov says.
From a small rented workshop to one of the largest furniture manufacturers in the country: the story of Ruse-based Irim follows the path of a classic family business that not only survives crises but also expands and looks to the future. Today the company has an annual turnover of 100 million levs (50 million euro) and employs 500 people. It manufactures primarily case furniture, which is sold mainly in Bulgaria but also in 15 other European countries. The next round of expansion is already in the plans.
