Daniel Gross, CEO PENNY | REWE Romania: The team is the leading engine of every business

This year, The Diplomat-Bucharest shares with its valued partners and audience, a momentous milestone – the 20th anniversary on the business media segment in Romania.

So, we came a long, wonderful and also challenging way to this year, when we celebrate two decades of unwavering dedication to excellence in media and our relentless pursuit of delivering insightful, timely and impactful business news and events. To celebrate this milestone, THE DIPLOMAT-BUCHAREST connects with businesspeople and put into light their excellence and performances in a special event, THE DIPLOMAT-BUCHAREST AWARDS GALA.   This year, the special Awarding Gala ceremony will take place on October 22, at JW MARRIOTT BUCHAREST GRAND HOTEL, Grand Ballroom.

To mark the occasion, we spoke with business leaders about their business sentiment, expectations and conclusions for the first half of this year. We recently talked to Daniel Gross, CEO of PENNY | REWE Romania and here there are his opinions:

Grasping the opportunities of 2024

For 2024 we expect similar results as in 2023. The first part of the year was with more challenges, but currently we see an increase in customers which brings also a double digit increase in turnover. Still, I am confident that the second half of 2024 will bring us many more good things, as it has already done until now.

I am an ambitious person by nature, and I always have big expectations from any year that comes in our business. 2023 was the 9th year in a row with the highest increase in turnover among food retail entities in REWE Group. We also ended 2023 with a turnover of over 8.32 billion lei, which means a 16% advance compared to the previous year. In the past years, PENNY Romania was also in top in REWE Group, as we managed to always meet the Group expectations or even deliver more than expected.

The first half of this year brought us some major projects to be proud of. For example, we opened the first PENNY autonomous store in the world, at the end of May. Romania is an important market for the REWE group, and the performances of past years allowed us to have priority when it comes to research and development of projects. We enjoyed positive feedback from our customers and employees, and we are proud that we have made this huge step in local market retail.

Also, during the month of June we had the honor to watch our National Football team playing in Germany. PENNY is a proud sponsor of the National Football Team of Romania and supplier of fresh products. We showed our appreciation and respect for the team for taking us to European football fields by conducting a special 360° campaign dedicated to football.

We ran a special campaign with yellow T-shirts so that Romanian all over the country could show their support for the team while being dressed in yellow. In Romania and in Germany stadiums, supporters were all wearing PENNY yellow T-shirts, building a “yellow wall” for the National Team. I am proud to see that so many Romanians are wearing the PENNY T-shirts, answering to our call for unity.

We look back at the first half of the year and we like what we see. Next, until the end of the year, we anticipate opening other 35-40 more standard stores, which would make us to cross the threshold of 400 stores in Romania. This achievement would be a moment of celebration for us, as a business, and for me, as the CEO of the company. When I took over the Expansion department back in 2014, there were 149 stores in the country. This year, after 10 years, we will reach 400 stores. I am very proud when I look back at what we did all this time. I am also very proud of the entire PENNY team, which now consists of more than 7,300 hardworking colleagues all around the country, that make our business grow.

What matters most for a leader in 2024

I firmly believe that the team is the leading engine of every business. If there is a strong team, there are also good results. Whether we talk about Head of Departments, Managers, Team-Leaders, Project Managers, Store Managers or Logistics Managers – they all have their own teams that they coordinate and together we achieve results in PENNY Romania.

Since 2011 when I came back to the PENNY team, I could see every day the real importance of professionals, doing their job with passion and determination. I am proud to have the chance to work with my team, and I can undeniably state that, indeed, success starts from people.

As for a message to my teams, I like to think that together we can achieve what we had planned and even more than that. The journey will be tough because the air is becoming thinner with the altitude, but I am sure that our great team has all the ingredients to succeed also in 2024 and beyond.

The fundamentals of leadership and the right approach

When I first came to the PENNY Romania team, I was the employee number 19. Now, there are more than 7,300 employees. It has been an amazing journey, in which I have developed professionally up to the point where I wanted to be.

I worked in several departments, from IT to Controlling, to Technical Buying and Expansion, but all the time I knew that I wanted to do more, to have a leading role in the company. My career journey has been built on a well-defined career plan, and I think this is the fundamental pillar that everyone who wants to advance should follow.

Now, as I leader, I make sure that I am always there when my teams need my input. Still, I leave room for independence. I am confident in my teams, and every time I have to make a decision, I know that I have the support of my teams and they provide me with all the important details. I believe that trusting my team is a great example of a healthy connection between us. We can all rely on each other and navigate together though good or difficult times.

To conclude, I always show integrity when leading. If you are honest and correct, first you gain respect, then transparency and trust. Also, for a leader is very important to adapt fast to change. In German, people say that “Handel ist Wandel”, which means that “retail is constant change” and I do believe this. We work in a sector where there is constant change, and the ability to adapt to new things is crucial for leaders. If the leader has trust in the change and unknown, then teams will have too, because they have a model to look to.

Listening the voice of employees

We regularly run surveys inside the company so that we can track how employees feel about the workplace, their tasks, colleagues and other various aspects related to their jobs. We focus on building a friendly and safe place for everyone to work, and each employee is treated with respect and fairness when it comes to compensation. This year, we have been recognized as Top Employer 2024 in Romania by Top Employers Institute for the third time in a row, which proves that our efforts are transparent and visible.

When it comes to the way I relate to work values, I always try to inspire my team. For example, I always underline the fact that Romania has a lot to give. I believe that we, as a country, are just at the half of our journey to becoming better and better. Romania is having a great evolution process, and we, as a company, see this and enjoy it. Our plan as a retailer dedicated to Romanian customers is to always be close to them and always offer what is the best. I wish that many people would see the real potential that Romania has and work together for a better future to come.

Making the best of the business growth potential

From various assortment of products, fair prices, strong expansion, partnerships with local butcheries, developing sustainable projects, improving online commerce services or supporting local communities, these are all areas that we focus on.

Still, if I were to debate more on one topic, that would be our TripleRO (3RO) initiative, though we aim to have as many 3RO products as possible on our shelves. 3RO products must have the main ingredient from Romania and be processed and packed in our country.

With this initiative, we aim to support even more local producers and develop Romanian economy. Everyone involved in this chain will enjoy the benefits of buying and consuming Romanian products.

Since launching this initiative, we worked together with public administration officials, university representatives, local producers and specialists to find a common ground for offering customers good quality 3RO products, that also support Romanian economy. From round tables together with Ministers and studies and analyzes made together with the Academy of Economic Studies (ASE), we built the ground for a unique initiative in Romania. Next, we plan that by 2025 60% of our assortment in stores will be 3RO.

It is already very well known that our economic sector has challenged us all this year. I see this both as an opportunity and a detail to pay extra attention to. Retail is detail and is powerfully impacted by how our economic sector develops, but with the right approach and strategy, I am confident that we can pass through it successfully.

If I were to point out some aspects, these would be the challenges from a legal perspective which are imposed fast and we must pay constant attention to, and the Deposit Return System updates. The DRS can be seen from both perspectives – both a challenge and an opportunity, if we address it correctly.

Technology at its best use

We use technology in our everyday business. We use it as a form of making tasks more efficient and for our teams to focus on actions that need human input. In this way, technology can take over repetitive tasks, and people can do better at their job by using their creativity, empathy, and strategic skills that no technology can have them.

This year we opened the first PENNY autonomous store in the world, because we see technology as our ally in a rapidly changing environment, as it is in retail. Still, besides sensors, cameras, and complex computer systems, we have a team working inside the store, so that our colleagues can support customers in need and make sure that everything in the store is perfectly functioning.

We will never replace human presence in our business, as we see technology as a tool for excellence, rather than the main vector for our activity.

A place to work and belonging

A place to work where you feel valued and have the chance to show your true potential – these are, in my opinion, the perfect ingredients for people to affirm themselves in a business and generate growth.

And for a business, it is important to always have a clear view of objectives and plans. This implies a well-prepared management team to lead the entire company and make sure that the business stays relevant and up to date with every advancement that may arise in the industry. It is also important to have leaders that show respect, listen and care about their employees and customers, communities and environment in an active way.