Serbian producers are reportedly better than Croatian ones.
“Croats are in shock; Croatian souvenirs are being produced in Serbia,” the Serbian media reported yesterday, pointing out the fact that Ethno Croatia personal organisers, with ten recognisable traditional Croatian motifs, have Serbia as their country of origin, reports Večernji List on March 6, 2018.
Some have immediately recalled the case of Serbian chocolate bars which were presented as gifts to children in Dubrovnik in 2016 by Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who later apologised for the “mistake.”
However, there is no mistake this time around. The beautiful Croatian personal organisers, decorated with recognisable motifs from Croatian folk costumes, are indeed produced in Serbia.
After a failed attempt in Croatia, Eurocom, a company from Zagreb which sells the organisers, has found partners in neighbouring Serbia. They didn't want to reveal which Serbian town and company is producing the organisers because, as they said, they did not want to expose their business partners to the potentially unpleasant situation.
“Some people have warned us of that the fact that, out of 130 products under the Ethno Croatia brand, personal organisers are produced in Serbia could provoke negative comments. We did not take such warnings into account because we did not want to create such an atmosphere in our company. Also, before opting for Serbia, we did try to produce them in Croatia. The organisers are unique, they have wooden covers, and there is only one company in Croatia which can do that. We used to produce them there, but we were not satisfied with the quality,” says Tomislav Herceg, deputy manager of Eurocom, which sells several thousand different souvenirs, including hundreds of the "controversial" organisers, in souvenir shops, bookstores and hotels.
The first Ethno Croatia souvenirs were produced three years ago, and in the meantime, they have spread the production all over Croatia. Candles are produced in Otočac, soaps on the island of Brač, magnets in Dubrovnik, pencils in Karlovac... “It would be easier for us for organisers to be produced in Croatia as well but, in the end, there are also Croats working in the Serbian plant where they are produced now,” says Herceg.
“We promote the Croatian culture, and we strive to bring the ethno-motifs to as many foreign tourists as possible. Is it really important whether the whole range of souvenirs is produced in Croatia? We are developing similar products for Hungary as well, and they do not mind that we produce their souvenirs in Croatia. We are also in negotiations with companies from Serbia and Montenegro,” adds Herceg, praising Serbia's business practices and the current business climate in the country.
“I would say that Serbia is slowly becoming a small China. They produce a lot of stuff, they make quality products, respond quickly to inquiries... Croatia seems to have fallen asleep in some aspects,” says the representative of Eurocom, a wholesale and distribution company of school and office supplies with about a hundred employees.
Translated from Večernji List (reported by Radmila Kovačević).
