News

Dan Nistor takes over from Ciprian Moldoveanu, who will be coordinating the group's strategic development

BUCHAREST, February 2nd , 2022 — Nordic Group, one of the largest Romanian wholesalers of premium foods, catering to the Retail, HoReCa and Confectionery industries, is appointing Dan Nistor to the position of General Manager starting February, to consolidate the Group's rapid development of recent years and to secure resources for future projects.

Ciprian Moldoveanu, who has held the position of General Manager for the past five years, will continue to coordinate the Group's strategic development, with a particular focus on new directions.

“Five years ago, at the first Nordic Group annual conference, I was saying it was the next natural step for me to take over the GM position from my father, after 26 years of Nordic. It is now 31 years since the establishment of the first company within the group. During these past five years, the group has taken numerous steps that have fundamentally transformed our business, guided by two key principles: growth and sustainability,” said Ciprian Moldoveanu.

Over the past few years, Nordic Group has restructured its portfolio of suppliers, has developed existing partnerships and has developed new ones. At the same time, it continued acquisitions, opened new brick-and-mortar and online stores, as well as Nordic Restaurants, created new brands and entered the Spirits &Wine market. Nordic embraced the digitalization trend during the pandemic by implementing its Nordic Customer Platform, laying the groundwork for the Group's future digital projects.

“All these accelerated developments, with organic, lateral and downstream growth, have heightened the Group's complexity. To ensure the successful management of this added complexity and to significantly improve our structure and streamline operations, as well as to secure the necessary resources for Nordic Group's future projects, we have decided to bring in someone with vast experience and expertise. Therefore, starting February, Nordic Group has a new GM, Dan Nistor,” announced Ciprian Moldoveanu.

“When Ciprian invited me to join his team and take on the responsibilities of the role of General Manager of Nordic Group, I knew this challenge would be different from anything I have previously encountered, which makes it all the more exciting. I have accepted the position and I am ready to lay down all the experience and knowledge I have acquired and developed throughout my 23 years of activity on various markets in Europe, Africa and Asia. I am fully confident that Nordic has all the necessary ingredients and together we will successfully reach our goals,” said Dan Nistor.

Ciprian Moldoveanu added the Group's future plans include, to name just a few, the accelerated development of logistical capabilities, tapping new markets in the region and beyond, the launch of new digital applications that will allow the group to access new client segments and to expand into other sectors.

“We will continue to pursue rapid development, building on the group's solid fundamentals. I will be particularly focusing on bettering our understanding of our clients' needs and on cementing and reconfirming our partnerships with suppliers. Beyond hard numbers, Nordic Group, as we all know it, has been and will continue to be defined by Responsibility, Integrity, Innovation, Adaptability and Optimism,” said Dan Nistor.

During Ciprian Moldoveanu's tenure as General Manager, the company has restructured its supplier portfolio to increase sustainability by reducing its dependency to a small number of suppliers and consolidating multiannual partnerships with new suppliers such as Meggle, Kotanyi, etc. Growth was accelerated both intensively, by developing existing partnerships, and extensively, by securing new partnerships; the Group acquired Dupont Ingrediente and opened brick-and-mortar and online stores, as well as Nordic Restaurants, which currently operates three brands: Truff&Moi, Pastalicious and the Group's flagship, MOKI – Modern Kitchen. The Group also created new brands, such as Voilà and El Maestro, bringing Romanian consumers high quality products from France and Denmark.

In 2021, Nordic also entered the Spirits &Wine sector, seeking to exclusively bring premium products by developing partnerships with major players like Amaro Montenegro Group, a leading player in Italy with top products such as Vecchia Romagna, Amaro Montenegro, Select and others, Purity Distillery – which produces Connoisseur 51 Reserve Vodka, the highest rated vodka by Wine Enthusiast, and Navy Strength Organic Gin, the world's best gin at the 2020 International Spirit Challenge, Canard-Duchene – one of the oldest champagne houses, founded in 1868, or Sir Edmond Gin – the only gin in the world infused with Bourbon vanilla.

During the pandemic, which accelerated the digitalization trend, Nordic Group completed a project it had started in 2020: the implementation of Nordic Customer Platform – a customized CRM & SFA application based on the latest SAP technology, a total investment of over 500,000 euros that constitutes the foundation for the Group's future digital projects.

“Although we have had numerous achievements on the business side, our biggest accomplishment in the latest period is definitely the fact that our entire team has managed to navigate the challenges of this pandemic, we haven't had any major health problems and Nordic Group remains a solid and dynamic company on the Romanian market. For us, people come first!” concluded Ciprian Moldoveanu.

Dan Nistor, the future General Manager of Nordic Group, graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of Timișoara and completed specialty courses at prestigious institutions such as the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) and Harvard Business School. His international experience spans over 20 years across various organizations, including Coca Cola. Dan Nistor is an expert in developing new businesses and consolidating relations with existing clients, restructuring of of business units, including preparing smaller businesses for expansion, strategic planning, implementation of change strategies, building successful brands, building high-performing and committed cross-functional teams.

About Nordic Group

Nordic Group was founded in 1991 and has since reached an annual turnover of 55 million euros and 400 employees. The group consists of four separate entities:

Nordic Food: Founded in 1994, in 2021 it had a turnover of 48.2 million euros, 230 employees and an active portfolio of 100 brands and 1,945 products.

Nordic Logistic: Founded 19 years ago, the company currently has a storage capacity of 12,000 square meters and 12,000 pallets. Nordic Logistic boasts a fleet of 80 trucks of various capacities, with controlled temperature and dual-temperature vehicles. Logistic had a turnover of 6 million euros in 2021 and 160 employees.

Nordic Restaurants: Founded in 2020, the company has a turnover of 500,000 euros and currently operates three brands: MOKI, Truff&Moi and Pastalicious. MOKI came about following Nordic Group's experience of 30 years in the hospitality industry. Following the opening of the Stephane Glacier School, MOKI was the next natural step in setting the trends in culinary art in Romania.

Nordic Shops: Nordic Shops is the company that sells products distributed by Nordic Food online and through a shop located in Bucharest, at 240A Calea Vitan. In 2021, it had a turnover of 300,000 euros, fulfilled 4,200 orders and sold 15,118 products.