February the 10th, 2021 - The manager of the popular Zagreb City Centre One shopping outlet, which (in pre-pandemic times) drew in many bargain hunters on a daily basis, has now made a bold business move and taken over yet another Croatian shopping centre.

As Ana Blaskovic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, CC Real, the manager of the Zagreb City Centre One shopping centre, is set to take over the management of the Max City shopping centre in the beautiful Istrian city of Pula, which is under that company's umbrella. The company specialising in property management is taking over the strategic and operational management, accounting and mediation in renting the largest shopping centre in Istria with the "intention to improve all processes in everyday work".

Pula's Max City otherwise covers more than 27,000 square metres of retail space and 800 covered parking spaces. Opened back in November 2018, it employs several hundred people, among about 60 of the brands present among the shopping centre's tenants are names like H&M, Mango, Stradivarius, Bershka and Pull & Bear, Reserved, Mohito and Sinsay, Elipso, L’Occitane and the CineStar multiplex. Along with them are, among others, gastronomic offers of various kinds, cafes, a children's playroom, and even a charging station for electric cars.

"We believe that our motivated team of professionals, with their general and industry knowledge, as well as their vast local and international experience will contribute to the growth of Max City in cooperation with the tenants, partners and suppliers," said CC Real director Davorin Profeta.

CC Real has otherwise been operating since back in 2006, and through three City Centre One shopping centres, including the one in the capital, it has invested more than 435 million euros in Croatia in total. Despite two changes of ownership of the Zagreb City Centre One East and West, CC Real continued to manage them well. Back at the end of 2012, the business was expanded to Austria, then to Hungary and even further afield to Finland.

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With the growth of retail sales for more than 50 months in a row and the growth of the purchasing power of citizens and consumer optimism, retailers are becoming more optimistic about doing business in Croatia. In addition to the Italian discounter Eurospin, the retail giant LC Waikiki, owned by two Turkish families Kucuk and Dizdar, will soon come to Croatia, reports Večernji List on April 13, 2019.

The first store in Croatia will be opened at the Arena Centre in Zagreb in mid-May. According to advertisements for future employees which have been appearing on Croatian websites since the beginning of this year, the chain will also open a shop in Split. This is the leading Turkish retail chain, whose largest individual shareholder is Mustafa Kucuk, worth 1.1 billion dollars. This year, the company will have more than three billion dollars in total revenues, half of which from abroad. They have decided that it is worth investing in a small market such as Croatia, where already there are rivals such as H&M, C&A, Kika, Pepco and others.

The largest clothing retail chain by the number of shops has already opened a number of stores in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Currently, it is trading in more than 45 countries, with around 1,000 stores and the approach that “everyone deserves to dress well” and at affordable prices. In addition to Croatia, this year they plan to expand to China, India and Malaysia. In 2017, about 12 million people a week bought clothes at their stores, and each minute they sold 1,724 products.

The Waikiki brand was established in 1988 by French designer Georges Amouyal with partners called Les Copains - Friends (LC), adding the name of the famous Hawaiian Waikiki beach. In 1997, it became the Turkish brand LC Waikiki Magazacılık Hizmetleri Ticaret. It started its European expansion in Romania in 2009, and the goal is to become one of the three most successful clothing retailers in Europe by 2023.

Four years ago, the 100th shop abroad was opened in Mostar, and the company is also present in Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Morocco, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Egypt, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and since 2017 in Indonesia and Kenya.

The year before, LC Waikiki also entered the home textile category under the brand LCW HOME. With more than 1.25 million square metres, their stores in 2017 covered the area larger than 175 football stadiums.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Jolanda Rak Šajn).

More retail news can be found in the Business section.

Croatians like good design, but given their general standard of living it is indeed not irrelevant how much they have to pay for fashionable clothes, shoes and accessories. Therefore, it is no wonder that there are several outlets located close to Zagreb and one of the best-known is the one found in Sesvete called Designer Outlet Croatia.

The shopping centre is a joint venture between the Ikea Centers company and Mutschler Outlet Holding AG from Switzerland. The two companies already co-operate in the Designer Outlet Algarve project in Portugal. Both the Croatian and the Portuguese outlets are managed by a consulting company from Austria, ROS Retail Outlet Shopping, one of the leading European outlet managers.

For many, time spent shopping in outlets where prices are not too high is the time spent best.

The outlet boasts over 100 prestigious brands, including Armani Exchange, Croata, Pepe Jeans, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, Converse, Yamamay, XYT, Gerry Weber, Liscu, Desigual, Barbolini, Under Armor... While looking for a deal, shoppers pass by the replica of Dubrovnik's city tower and something which is supposed to look like Dalmatian streets. There is also the Lotrščak tower, a piece of Zagreb's Upper Town...

A few days ago, a group of journalists and Croatian celebrities and influencers was invited to visit the outlet. The mini-tour was joined by such well-known personalities such as actress Sementa Rajhard, influencer Rita Rumora and well-known bloggers from outside of Croatia, Tesa Jurjašević from Ljubljana and Azra Hajdar from Mostar.

For a more straightforward shopping trip, there is a direct bus line from the Savski Most terminal in Zagreb that stops at key locations in the city.

More shopping news can be found in the Lifestyle section.

Good business opportunities are not to be missed. But is Black Friday in Croatia a good opportunity? In the last few years, retailers in Croatia have tried to recreate the consumer fever from the United States, advertising fantastic sales which allegedly await those who decide to spend their money on the day after the US Thanksgiving, reports Večernji List on November 23, 2018.

A short visit to favorite stores clearly shows that the advertising about crazy discounts of up to 90% applies only to certain items, while most discounts are more in the range of between 30 and 50%. But it seems that this is enough for retailers to see tens of millions of kuna in increased turnover, much higher than in an "ordinary" November day.

According to information from the Tax Administration, last month's Black Friday in Croatia brought in 6.9 million receipts in the total amount of 573.1 million kuna. In 2016, there were 6.6 million receipts for 460.6 million kuna, and in 2015, 6.4 million receipts for 433.9 million kuna.

The purchasing power recovery has been followed by the growth in retail sales which has been evident for some 60 months in a row. Compared to 2014 when 6.6 million receipts were issued in the total amount of 440.7 million kuna, it is apparent that spending on Black Friday has increased by more than 130 million kuna.

This is also confirmed by Tomislava Ravlić, the deputy director of the Commerce Sector of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), who pointed out that retailers have about 8 billion kuna in average monthly turnover, which is about 250 million kuna a day, while on Black Friday in Croatia it doubles to about 500 million kuna. “This is a relatively new ‘holiday’ for us and there are still no significant discounts offered," Ravlić said.

Nevertheless, in the last two years retailers have progressed from symbolic discounts to a discount of up to 50 percent. But it seems that consumers will have to wait for a long time to be able to buy a TV for about a hundred kuna as they can do in the United States, so there is no need to wake up early in the morning to wait in long lines and fight over merchandise.

In Croatia, Black Friday is an example of standard traditional days for discount shopping, such as holiday season or special days – Valentine's Day, Women's Day and so on, said Drago Munjiza, a consultant and board member of Lonija.

“In the United States, Black Friday is a traditional model for stock clearance before the Christmas season, while in Croatia the concept is closer to a stronger weekend sale, so the ultimate goal is not to sell all stock, but just to create another day or weekend with higher turnover before the holiday discounts and the December consumer madness,” he explained.

The turnover will indeed be higher over this weekend, especially if we take into account internet sales in online shops Croatian consumers use.

For more on shopping in Croatia, click here.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Jolanda Rak Šajn and Romana Kočević Barišić).

ZAGREB, November 23, 2018 - As many as 13% of internet buyers in Croatia have experienced online shopping fraud, and the most frequent form of fraud is the non-delivery of paid goods or the delivery of goods of poorer quality than advertised, according to the findings of a survey conducted by the Croatian Banking Association (HUB).

The survey, conducted among slightly over a thousand respondents among the general public in Croatia, shows that less than a half buy goods from online shops and 49% of those customers find the security of transactions most important, while 29% of those customers attach the greatest importance to being provided with the goods that accurately reflect the characteristics which were specified in the offer.

When it comes to online shopping fraud, 13% of those polled say that they have been victims, 46% of them say they have not been given the goods they have paid for, and in 41% of cases the goods did not have the quality they were supposed to have according to their advertisements.

Among online buyers, as many as 36% purchase goods only from verified online shops such as Amazon, eBay, AliBaba and Google Shopping Search.

A mere 14% opt for buying from Croatian online shops.

Respondents were asked about online shopping fraud via social networks, and 49% of those polled say that they use only trusted websites.

HUB director Zdenko Adrović was quoted as saying that one of the priorities is to raise the awareness of citizens about possible risks in online shopping. It is necessary to continuously educate and inform citizens about models of protection against potential online shopping fraud, he added.

Banks invest considerable funds in state-of-the-art protection against fraud, he said.

For more on online shopping in Croatia and problems some of the customers encounter, click here.

If you have walked into at least one shopping centre in recent days, you won't have been able to miss the incredible crowds in stores. The shops are being decorated with Christmas seasonal decorations earlier than ever, but shopping for Christmas presents in mid-November is something new and unusual. The Christmas holiday shopping season has started, reports Večernji List on November 15, 2018.

Professor of psychology Ljubica Uvodić Vranić says that we should not focus on material gifts, but instead find other ways to show our love, such as hugs, walks, conversations and reconciliation. She remembers that holidays in the past used to be a matter for family and communion, while today they are synonymous with consumerism, with a competition “who will buy a bigger and better gift.”

“No wonder January is the saddest month since all the bills have to be paid then. People should not be burdened with material gifts, and especially not try to demonstrate their love by spending money. Instead, it is necessary to sort out your priorities so that your family would not suffer later due to the lack of money,” says Uvodić Vranić.

She adds that spending too much money in December and even in November is not logical since all bills will have to be paid eventually. There is no need to believe that giving presents will solve any problems. She says that advertising and the society are to blame. “Advertisements are mostly to blame, but also the way we influence each other. At work, at sports clubs, on the streets, among friends... there is always someone who starts talking about how he or she has bought an excellent gift and that starts to feel like pressure.”

She also discussed the problem of giving “large” gifts. She says that each year expectations for the next year increase, and that creates stress in the person who gives the present. This is precisely the worst consequence of the pressure, since many people feel the lack of money in January, which creates additional stress.

She explains that the greatest stress in life is felt due to the death of a close family member, followed by illness and losing a job. Losing a job is often accompanied by a lack of money, so it is not difficult to conclude that similar stress occurs after buying too expensive gifts, which creates a similar effect.

For more on the Christmas holiday season in Croatia, click here.

Translated from Večernji List (reported by Iva Kordić).

The outlet will be located next to IKEA Zagreb.

Long before modern shopping centres, everybody shopped at Nama.

The largest shopping centre in the Croatian capital achieved a record-breaking number of visitors in 2017 and is working on ambitious business plans for 2018 and beyond.

Significant changes are taking place in the ownership of Croatian shopping centres.