January 27, 2020 - A familiar brand returns to the cities of Slovenia, as the Varteks Modabus goes international for the first time.
It was once the fashion pride of all former Yugoslavia, working with some of the top names in fashion globally, as well as making its own-brand range of outstanding suits. Jeans for Levi Strauss were made in Novi Marof, a small town near the company's centre of operation in Varazdin, for example. At its height, there were 187 stores all over former Yugoslavia, as well as several international store presences.
After almost going bankrupt just before its 100th birthday, Varteks was taken over by successful Croatian entrepreneur Nenad Bakic, who was named in the Financial Times list of top 100 digital champions of Europe in 2018.
Bakic and his team embarked on an aggressive restructuring of the company, and he pumped several million euro of his own money in, while also revolutionising the marketing strategy into a new digital format to meet the needs of the modern consumer. You can read about the success Bakic and Varteks are achieving in turning the company around in this recent TCN feature.
The prime location regional real estate of the company in all the neighbouring countries and all over Croatia had been slowly sold off to service debts before Bakic's arrival, and the company needed a strategy to once more engage with customers on the high street.
The solution has been a huge hit in Croatia - the Varteks Modabus. Having purchased a bus in Germany, it was refitted to serve as a mobile fitting room, and soon the Varteks Modabus was doing the rounds of the country, bringing the new Varteks ranges back to the high street in a modern and mobile format. Working with QR codes and the company webshop, the Varteks Modabus has been a very effective bridge between the factory and its customers all over Croatia.
And this week, the Varteks Modabus will go international for the first time, with three appearances in Slovenia. The bus will begin its mini-tour of Slovenia on Wednesday at Trg Leona Skutja in Maribor from 12:00 - 20:00, before heading to Celje at Mercator Centre on January 31, and Ljubljana BTC on February 1.
Varteks has been selling into the Slovenian market now for a year via its webshop, but this is the first time that customers will see the famous fashion brand on the streets in several decades. One more milestone in the rebirth of this proud and stylish company.
To follow the latest from the Varteks, follow the dedicated TCN section.
