Tudor Manea, CEO of eMAG Group: If we cannot influence something, we will see each other of the things we can influence, such as investments in AI, which we must do and if it will increase and if consumption will decrease.
♦ The Government of Romania has all the instruments with which to equalize the competitive environment with the retailers in China, that is to impose their taxation and the creation of local legal entities – to function according to the same rules as we are lost a million euros per day. It would be a bit «unfair» for the government to put taxes on work or VAT and not take those 400 million euros from them, said the EMAG chief. The eMAG group, the largest player in the online retail in the region, scheduled for the current fiscal year, which started in April 2025, investments of 1.2 billion lei (over 240 million euros), of which a significant share will go to the technology area, including artificial intelligence (AI). «We plan to invest around 1.2 billion lei. And these investments will go the most to the e-commerce infrastructure development area (782 million lei), after which we will invest in the extension of the group companies, after which, the area represents a very high percentage, around 40 million dollars,» said Tudor Manea, CEO of the EMAG group. «We will continue to invest in the expansion of product ranges (38 million lei), both on eMAG Marketplace, but also for the other business. And, not least, we will invest in the loan area.» The turnover of the eMAG group increased in fiscal year 2025 (April 2024 – March 2025) by 11% to 11.4 billion lei. «From the point of view, last year we had 62 million orders. The turnover throughout the group, all the businesses together, were 11.4 billion lei, an increase of about 11%,» said Tudor Manea. The level of taxes paid by the group to the Romanian state was 900 million lei. And the level of investments made by the group in the year ended up to 900 million lei. eMAG Romania registered between April 2024 – March 2025 (fiscal year 2025), a turnover of 7.3 billion lei, up 17% compared to the previous fiscal year. The increase of investments from 900 million lei to 1.2 billion lei will support the growth in the following years, said Tudor Manea. Asked how the budget of 40 million euros is divided more precisely, the EMAG chief said that the money is invested in several directions that involve the use of technology and AI. «We have the logistics area for example. In the logistics area we analyze routes for couriers, arranging the goods in the warehouse. Also, an important cost is that of the structuring of data and the development of data base databases, with which to supply the AI models, he explained. «In order to be able to do you, you need a very good data structure in the back. That is, without having a very good data structure in the back you cannot have a very good, because otherwise, a scientist date, will make 80% of the data cleaning.» «If you want to be productive and have new models, to constantly innovate, you have to have the data very well. To offer an example, we have at present, I believe 50 people who only deal with data structuring. That is, our technology ecosystem has about 300 different applications in the back. Each of these 300 applications produces data, and how to store this data, how to store this data, It can cope with the business growth, and in a consistent way, that is, all the data, for example, a command transaction to have all the statuses, to be clean. Euro «. Asked to what extent the investment plans of the fiscal measures that will be taken by the new government and the possible fluctuations of consumption are influenced, the EMAG chief said that the company's plans are long and that some investments cannot be postponed regardless of the evolution of some indicators. «If we cannot influence something, we will see each other of the things we can influence, such as investments in AI, which we need to make and if it will increase and if consumption will decrease. Investments in Freshful and the second warehouse, anyway you have to do, because the current deposit will be filled soon and we have raised it to the client. By making these investments. On the other hand, Tudor Manea stated that the Government of Romania is expected to equalize the competition between local retailers and those in China such as Temu or Shein applying customs duties and for low valuable packages and forcing companies to open legal entities locally to comply with all the European rules. He discussed the public estimates according to which the Romanian state loses one million euros per day because it does not apply taxes on the packages from China. «The retailers in China, I do not know, if we look at them from the client, to say, yes, we should consider them competition and we have to talk about them. But when I look at them structurally, I think I said this last year, I can not consider them competition, that we do not play after the same rules. Customs fees on all the goods that bring it, 10% and, last but not least, I have a legal entity and I am controlled by all institutions in Romania and I have to provide compliance for all institutions in Romania. At the level we must do, as a European company, as a company in Romania, I think that the Government of Romania has the instruments with which this competitive environment is to work according to the same rules as us. In the public space, the estimation is lost about one million euros a day.
For other news, analyzes, articles and information from real -time business follows the financial newspaper on WhatsApp Channels