November the 4th, 2021 - The Vodnjan Infobip company has gone from strength to strength over recent years, and now, with its most recent take over of an American rival, this remarkable Croatian company is edging ever closer to Wall Street.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, the first, and so far the only Croatian ''unicorn'', the Vodnjan Infobip, is continuing with its ambitious expansion. After a financial injection of half a billion dollars last month, this company acquired the American Peerless Network, a global provider of VoIP (Voice over IP) services.

Although the value of the transaction remains a secret for now, it is on the trail of plans to go public in New York in late next year, or in early 2023. This latest acquisition comes after the Vodnjan Infobip company realised a 500 million US dollar loan last month with the main investors being credit funds managed by Ares Management Corporation and those managed by BlackRock, under the advisory baton of Morgan Stanley.

''This new financing places Infobip in an exclusive group of renowned high-growth and high-value technology companies, which have used a similar form of financing. This is Infobip's second round of external financing, after a significant strategic investment by the capital investment company One Equity Partners (OEP) in the total amount of 300 million euros from the second half of last year,'' the company said in a statement.

They don't want to talk too much about the details of the transaction, stating only that the payment was made with a combination of money and shares from Infobip, as well as the fact that the management of Peerless will invest parts of its ownership shares in the Vodnjan Infobip company. The conclusion itself depends on the green light of the regulator.

By stepping into the US market, Infobip is set to inherit a lucrative piece of cake of the ''voice over IT'' services market as Peerless is a leader in this segment covering over 93 percent of the US population. It has more than 4,500 interconnections in 49 (US) states and a turnover of nine billion minutes per month across more than 200 markets.

''By taking over the Peerless Network, we're accelerating our international strategy. This is a very positive thing for Infobip from a financial, strategic and operational point of view. It enables us to grow our business even more strongly over in the USA, which is in line with the strategy of the Peerless Network,'' said Silvio Kutic, the CEO and co-owner of Infobip.

“Together, we'll offer companies and people around the world our services through a truly global network supported by local teams. Of course, the goal is to provide the best user experience on the market. We have an exciting period ahead of us and big things are just starting to happen for Infobip,'' he added.

“We're very excited about all the possibilities that the combination of Infobip and Peerless will bring. It will allowsus to scalably expand our services, capabilities and offers to our customers. By combining our market-leading voice offering and Infobip's global messaging capabilities, we're creating a strong foundation to become a leader in the fast-growing cloud communications market,'' said John Barnicle, CEO of Peerless Network.

"This acquisition will, among other things, enable Peerless Network to provide comprehensive support to its customers who have business needs outside of the United States," he added.

The range of services boasted by the Vodnjan Infobip company enables companies to communicate with a large number of their customers via messages, e-mail or chatbots. Among their clients are massive world names such as Uber, LG, Sberbank, and their services are also used (among recreational athletes) by the very popular Strava application. Peerless, on the other hand, brings a narrower segment of communication, VoIP, under the umbrella of Infobip.

Thus, the joint solutions of the two companies would ultimately be able to process more than 30 billion monthly user interactions across a full range of communication channels in more than 190 countries around the world.

When asked whether the acquisition of Peerless completely exhausted the aforementioned financial injection, Infobip didn't want to specify. It is to be assumed that this is not the case since it was previously announced that they would consider several acquisitions before going public, and it was confirmed to Bloomberg that "the takeover cycle isn't over".

Plans for an initial public offering of shares on the New York Stock Exchange are in full swing, and if we briefly recall, the CEO and co-owner Silvio Kutic told Bloomberg back in May that after the completion of funding (the latest rounds) the company could be ready for an IPO in the next 18 to 20 months.

In the first quarter of the year, the Vodnjan Infobip company's revenue grew 57 percent compared to the same quarter last year thanks to the acquisition of OpenMarkets, after which the valuation exceeded 1 billion US dollars, seeing Infobip crowned with the prestigious status of a unicorn. This year, they also took over the Croatian Shift franchise and the world's leading SMS firewall service provider, Anam Technologies from Ireland.

Infobip's expected revenues this year should amount to 1.2 billion euros, repesenting very rapid growth compared to last year's level of about 720 million euros, or about 600 million euros achieved back in pre-pandemic 2019.

For more, check out our business section.

November the 3rd, 2021 - The Croatian Maistra company has done excellently this year, despite the dire circumstances that have dominated since the beginning of 2020. They even exceeded when compared to what was considered to be the record year of 2019.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Jadranka Dozan writes, at the end of October 2021, the quarterly or nine-month reports of the leading Croatian hotel and tourism companies were mostly completed. They provided more concrete insights into how the tourist season in general has been, how it has affected business results across this economic sector and where they are in relation to their pre-crisis achievements.

If we look at the data from the consolidated reports, the six leading companies generated 3.77 billion kuna in operating revenues during the three summer months, which is 2.2 times more than last year, and compared to the record year of 2019, it's only 1.8 percent less. Since the pre-season didn't suggest pre-crisis levels would ever be realised, a comparison of these nine-month results shows that operating revenues are at 82.2 percent of what was recorded back in 2019.

At the same time, the "big six" consisting of Valamar, the Croatian Maistra company, Plava laguna, Pula's Arena Hospitality Group, Sunce hotels and Imperial Riviera reported 1.82 billion kuna in quarterly net profit, which is only 3.6 percent less than in the summer quarter of 2019, while in the first nine months, net profit stood at 19 percent or about 300 million kuna less than in the pre-pandemic year before last (1.27 billion to 1.57 billion kuna in total).

Individually speaking, one of the most impressive quarterly achievements is the Croatian Maistra company's net profit. During the three summer months of this year, this well known travel company controlled by the Adris Group reported a massive 850 million kuna in total revenues and as much as 449 million kuna in net profit. Compared to 138 million kuna profit in the same period last year, this is 3.2 times more, and it's also an increase of 70 million kuna or almost a fifth compared to the third quarter of pre-pandemic 2019.

While in the third quarter, the Croatian Maistra company's total revenues exceeded the pre-pandemic result of 2019 by about 60 million kuna (7.7 percent), cumulatively speaking, Maistra's consolidated revenues (1.15 billion kuna) compared to 2019 were only about four percent behind, and profit stood at just over three percent (373 million versus 362 million kuna).

The most significant growth was recorded in the lux (luxury) segment of the company's portfolio, in which the volume exceeded that of 2019. The results also state that in the first nine months of 2021, the profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) amounted to 568 million kuna, which is three times more when compared to last year and three percent more than back in 2019.

For more, check out our business section.

November the 1st, 2021 - The Croatian company Pa-Sta, which creatively means both So what? in Croatian and also spells out the name of a much loved Italian food, has attracted the attention of huge chain stores.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ivan Tominac writes, the global coronavirus pandemic opened some new vistas for many people, and it pushed Renata Buric from Zagreb into what are often choppy and challenging entrepreneurial waters. In those circumstances, she became the owner of the Pa-Sta brand, which deals with the production of homemade, hand-made ravioli.

"As I grew up in a very traditional family that always respected the homemade food we ate, I simply decided that I'd try to make some homemade pasta, although in practice I didn't know much about it," said the Croatian company Pa-Sta's owner Renata Buric.

This is how the Facebook page Pa-Sta was created, where she posted a couple of pictures of several types of classic pasta. She published her page within the group Virtualni Zagrebacki plac and, to her surprise, it wasn't long before she received her first order.

"In fact, I can't describe to you how successful I considered this order and how much it motivated me to go on, and most of all it awakened in me a spark of curiosity for knowledge and possibilities - which sounded something like; what more could I do?

So I set out to explore, study, play with colours and try to do something different. My first post of colourful ravioli was met with great customer approval and there was a really big boom after which the story carried on all by itself. That's why today I like to say that Pa-Sta chose me, I didn't choose it,'' Buric revealed.

Ravioli she makes are special in many ways, and they are characterised by creativity in terms of top quality.

“Although we have pasta on the market that comes in different colours, what we can't find are the producers who used those same colours in an imaginative and creative way where they played with different motifs. We even have ravioli with dots or dashes and bows that are black with white dots. In addition, our ravioli are large, rich (the weight of one piece is about 50 grams) precisely because of their quality as the raw materials we use are some of the best.

In the end, we're in balance with the consumer basket and the market value of other Croatian products, because it was in our interest to make our pasta accessible to every customer,'' explained the Croatian company Pa-Sta's owner.

Renata decided to make it by hand instead of using a machine, and thus made the job really difficult. However, there have been zero regrets because the result of such a way of working is incomparable in its quality and taste compared to machine production.

“Each roll of dough is mixed by hand, the only thing we use mechanically is a dough thinning machine, it's a little bigger than the classic household machines. Each hole in the dough is cut by hand. We also stuff the ravioli by hand, then we cut and pack it. Basically, every single step in the process is manual. In fact, making ravioli is a physically demanding job. In addition, one needs to be very patient because every step is really important, and sometimes due to the nature of the food some steps in production can be more demanding than usual.

Beetroot or spinach are live foods and they aren't always the same, so you have to know how to adapt them in processing in order to get the maximum quality. Sometimes we have problems when, for example, the weather is humid, rainy or too hot, and the dough absorbs water or dries up quickly. In general, the process itself requires constant adjustment to the weather and to various seasonal conditions,'' explained Renata.

The Croatian company Pa-Sta's beginnings were very modest with about 100 kilograms of pasta per month, but their production capacity has grown significantly thanks to the Start Croatia project and the Spar Hrvatska retail chain - about a tonne of ravioli now comes out of their small manufactory per month.

“Our biggest challenge was learning and adopting all the items we needed to be able to compete out there on the market at all. I'd like to emphaside that the Start Croatia project has really helped us a lot in this segment,'' concluded Renata Buric.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.

October the 31st, 2021 - The well known Adris Group is set to invest a large sum into the renovation of several Zagreb hotels, as well as into the famous Hotel Marjan down in the City of Split.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, the Adris Group's net profit reached a massive 605 million kuna in the first nine months of this year, compared to a considerably lower figure of 141 million kuna last year, and total revenues rose to 4.51 billion kuna (marking a significant increase of 23 percent), they announced from Adris.

At the same time, the income from the sale of goods and services increased by a quarter, reaching a staggering 4.18 billion kuna. Consolidated profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also stands at 1.065 billion kuna, three percent below the pre-crisis levels of 2019. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to leave its traces on the results of the tourism business, Maistra, although a recovery was recorded in the main part of this year's main tourist season which is promising.

The company recorded 1.2 billion kuna in revenue from sales of goods and services, 79 percent of the figure recorded from back in 2019. EBITDA stood at 602 million kuna, reaching 85 percent of what was realised before the global pandemic struck, as well as net profit 360 million kuna in total. The Istrian part of the tourism business accounted for 86 percent of sales realised back in 2019, Zagreb hotels reached 36 percent of the same, and those down in Dubrovnik reached 44 percent of 2019's results.

Adris has also recently announced 200 million kuna in investments this year, with the continuation of preparations for the renovation projects of Zagreb hotels and the Marjan Hotel down on the coast in Split.

Croatia osiguranje's net profit amounted to 320 million kuna, 9 percent more on an annual basis, with 2.27 billion kuna of total gross premiums written in Croatia (a marked increase of 5 percent).

Cromaris' EBITDA profit also jumped up by more than a quarter, reaching 52 million kuna, while the net result was 12.3 million kuna.

For more, check out our dedicated business section.

October the 31st, 2021 - The much loved Croatian company Podravka has been recording some excellent sales growth across important markets, and despite the negative economic circumstances the coronavirus pandemic has dragged the entire world into, things are looking up for this enterprise.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, revenues from the Croatian company Podravka's sales for the first nine months of this year amounted to a very impressive 1,651.4 million kuna, which is 3.9 percent more than what was recorded back during the same period last year. Since last year, due to the poor epidemiological situation, there was an increase in demand for Podravka's products and the creation of increased stocks with customers across almost all markets, making this year's growth is even more significant.

If, for example, we compare the Croatian company Podravka's revenues with the pre-pandemic year of 2019, then revenue growth this year is even more significant, standing at 5.4 percent.

Sales revenue growth this year was achieved in almost all business programmes, among which the most significant growth of 5.2 percent was recorded in the Culinary business programme. The aforementioned growth in this particular segment was achieved mainly due to the growth of revenues from the sale of Universal Food Additives and Soups.

When it comes to sales revenue by region, growth was achieved across all of this company's key markets. Particular emphasis is placed on revenue growth of 9.5 percent in the Western Europe region, where growth was achieved in almost all business programmes, of which the largest growth was generated by the Culinary, Podravka food and Baby food segments.

It is worth noting that the other two most significant regions also achieved sales revenue growth, of which in Central Europe there was a growth of 4.4 percent, while the Adria region achieved sales revenue growth of 2.9 percent.

When we look at the business results of the Podravka Group for the first nine months of this year, an impressive 3,383.5 million kuna in sales revenue was generated. This realisation represents growth of 1.6 percent compared to the year before. Higher sales revenues are the result of revenue growth in two important business segments - Food and Pharmaceuticals. The Nutrition segment generated 2,634 million kuna, while Pharmaceuticals recorded 749.5 million kuna in sales revenue, with the largest contribution from the Prescription Medicines category, which increased by 5.4 percent.

The net profit of the Croatian company Podravka for the aforementioned period amounts to 259.3 million kuna and is higher by 23.4 percent when compared to the comparable period from one year before.

It's worth mentioning that the price of Podravka's shares on September the 30th this year amounted to 664 kuna, while back on December the 31st, 2020, they amounted to 485 kuna, which is a promising increase of 36.9 percent.

For more, check our our dedicated business section.

October the 30th, 2021 - The Croatian company Include based in Solin has made quite the name for itself over recent years and has gained not only local but international recognition as a brand. It has now presented its air quality measuring stations, and the Italian capital of Rome has been the first on their radar.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, the Solin-based company Include has introduced yet another brand new product - Aerys Stations - designed to measure air quality in city districts. The first metres will be delivered in November to nearby Rome.

The Croatian company Include claims that their measuring stations will enable the simple and affordable installation of a large number of units, even at the level of city districts, and that such a solution would be ideal for Zagreb, which isn't known for boasting the best air.

They noted from this innovative company that Aerys stations aren't a substitute for professional measuring stations, but that their fair and affordable price allows for the installation of a large number of units that provide relevant information on air quality in a common network in a significantly larger number of locations.

The data collected also provides cities with an insight into pollution sources and their frequency. Aerys will be available in three variants.

Model P allows for the measurement of the concentration of suspended particles that represent the largest source of pollution. Model G measures the concentrations of NO, NO2 and O3 gases, while Aerys X includes the measurement of particulate matter, toxic gases and basic atmospheric conditions.

The first systems made by the Croatian company Include will be delivered to Rome, which is just finishing the construction of a smart square where Steora benches will also be installed. In a market with an annual value exceeding 4.4 billion euros, Include intends to position itself as one of the key manufacturers in the coming years.

The company headed by the young innovator Ivan Mrvos, which has been building its visibility via their Steora smart benches since back in 2015, moved in the direction of producing systems that contribute to solving some of the biggest global challenges of today back at the end of 2020. Today, their smart city solutions are used in 59 countries around the world.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution poses one of the greatest global health risks, and it is estimated that back in 2016, air pollution caused 4.2 million premature deaths. A truly damning figure.

In addition to wanting Aerys stations to participate in solving the global problem of air pollution, the Croatian company Include also entered the smart waste management market last November when they presented their Terra bins that reduce waste collection by 80 percent, which reduces both carbon dioxide emissions and removal costs. The baskets are emptied via a "cloud" platform, and Mrvos said in November that their tanks hold three times more waste than typical ones, and that smaller cities can save up to two million euros per year thanks to their compression system.

The company is currently working on a third round of recapitalisation with the aim of further expanding its business to new markets and increasing production capacity. In the last round in 2019, they raised 19 million kuna in capital, in which the largest Croatian IT enterprises also participated.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.

October the 30th, 2021 - The Croatian TheGepek company has decided to apply blockchain technology and with it entered the competitive global market. TheGepek otherwise translates to ''TheBoot/Trunk'' (depending whether you're British or American) and has been around since 2020.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, although courier services that can organise deliveries to people and companies in terms measured in hours or even minutes have been increasing for many years, the coronavirus pandemic raised their development to unprecedented proportions, and last year the Croatian TheGepek company was formed. Over more recent days, the company has been entering the global market through the cryptocurrency application model.

TheGepek is otherwise a web platform that provides package delivery in just a few hours, based on the carpooling model, ie using existing transportation resources.

As Kristijan Skarica, co-owner and development director of the Croatian TheGepek company explained, their wish was to test out the market with a minimal set of functionalities in order to apply their learned experiences in this new version by introducing blockchain technology.

"In just a few months, several thousand users registered for the service with minimal investment in promotion. This is an indication to us that the market recognises us and has a need for our service. We decided to implement the blockchain process because we're talking about the technology of the future that offers new ways to develop innovation, shipment security, customer rewards, package security and ensure the global presence of TheGepek on the market through blockchain,'' pointed out Skarica.

He added that the use of blockchain will be one of the key differences of the Croatian TheGepek company when compared to other delivery services, because in addition to the implementation of blockchain, the platform will become universal in the concept of long-distance and last mile (simultaneous) delivery and thus become an ideal solution for all end users and their needs.

''We're currently in the process of making the so-called POC on the blockchain (Proof of Concept) with our partners and the award-winning digital agency Locastic, and our users will be able to see how the use of blockchain technology on the TheGepek platform works. I'd also like to mention Edi Sinovcic from the ShardLabs blockchain development agency with which we're successfully building this project. There will be more significant news in this segment by the end of the year,'' announced Skarica. The blockchain usage model in TheGepek should also be fairly easy to use.

Every driver who delivers a package, in addition to being paid in Croatian kuna, will receive a GPP token as an additional reward for each confirmed delivery on their account. The GPP token will have its equivalent in fiat currency, the user will be able to exchange it for money directly on the platform, withdraw to one of the partner exchange offices or to their own private wallet.

This GPP token will then be used to confirm a delivery in the form of a blockchain transaction, which further adds to the security and transparency of TheGepek's business, given that all blockchain transactions are publicly available and immutable. All users who own a GPP token, which aims to be the backbone of the entire TheGepek ecosystem, will be able to invest the token directly on the company's platform in several different investment pools, which will range from secure to risky.

From this micrologistics company, they estimate that the yield of the pool will vary by 10-50 percent per year, depending on the degree of risk, so users will be able to provide package insurance to other users who send packages and drivers who deliver packages.

The Croatian TheGepek company's project was launched last spring by two young entrepreneurs, brother and sister Dario and Carla Ferreri, based on their personal bad experience with existing courier services. Although over recent years various larger and smaller courier services have flooded the market here in Croatia, their main drawback is that they're mainly related to large cities, primarily Zagreb and several others, and the rest of Croatia, especially smaller settlements and villages, are left to the whims of Croatian Post and large delivery companies whose delivery deadlines are often measured in days. Some items simply never arrive.

This was exactly the reason as to why Dario and Carla started a business that has some great prospects. Namely, as Carla explained, she herself, as well as her brother, have many years of experience in logistics and business development.

"We came up with the idea one Friday afternoon, when it was necessary to deliver a package from Zagreb to the vicinity of Zadar quite urgently. More specifically, this package contained medicine, and the delivery deadline option we got that afternoon at several locations, from the post office to the distribution houses, was on average four days because there was a weekend ahead of us. We solved our problem that afternoon on the ''call a friend'' principle, and the very next day the idea of ​​developing TheGepek was born,'' pointed out Carla Ferreri.

Cost-sharing economics

For package senders, the Croatian TheGepek company has developed a “cashback” system in which all senders can send up to a certain percentage of money in the form of GPP tokens on their account, which they can then use for the next shipment or invest in one of the available ways on the platform. Depending on the level of use of TheGepek platform, each user will have the opportunity to realise additional benefits.

''We currently have very large growth on the platform which now has close to 4000 users and this growth is partly driven by putting the focus on farmers and the transition of their goods and services. I mention this group of users because they showed us how crucial it is to have a platform like TheGepek available that ensures fast and efficient sending of our own products, reduces delivery costs and even provides a source of additional income,'' stated Kristijan Skarica, adding that through such an approach and thanks to market testing, they have gained a clear example of a circular economy and he has no doubt that the use of blockchain technology will position them as a new technological solution.

The platform is currently available in Croatian and English, but the maps are global and TheGepek can be used anywhere in the world. This year, TheGepek has become part of the Infobip Startup Tribe programme, which, in addition to mentoring, provides them with Infobip's technology that will provide them with some completely new functionalities and benefits.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

October the 26th, 2021 - Numerous Croatian IT companies, as well as several from other sectors, including food and construction, are among the most interested in working with the Turks.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, the fact that Turkey is an increasingly important economic partner for Croatia has been well and truly confirmed by the data which shows that more than 700 companies are participating in the latest cycle of B2B talks that are being held with Turkey as part of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce's Go Global - Go Virtual project. The talks will run until October the 29th, 2021, and so far 543 companies from Croatia and 161 from Turkey have been involved.

The structure of interested companies that are looking for partners for cooperation is interesting, because the largest number, every seventh, comes from the Croatian IT sector, food and beverage production, and the construction sector, in which companies from the two countries have been cooperating.

About 60 companies come from the production of machinery and equipment, and the metal industry. About 50 companies dealing with automation and robotics, as well as electronics, are also discussing cooperation, but all other production sectors, as well as services, from consulting to tourism, are also quite strongly represented.

There are slightly less than 29 domestic enterprises interested in cooperation in the field of waste and recycling, and this interest is interesting because over more recent years this activity has raised Croatian exports to Turkey to absolute record levels.

This year, more precisely in the first seven months of it, exports almost reached the total realisation from last year, which was also a record export year on the Turkish market, in which a total of 183 million euros worth of goods were placed even in the conditions of the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

October the 24th, 2021 - The Zminj-based company Rudan has taken over one of the most popular places of its kind in all of the Republic of Croatia in its latest big business move - Terme Jezercica.

As Jutarnji/Novac/Jozo Vrdoljak writes, Rudan, a company from Zminj in Istria which is well known for its energy saving projects, has been making an increasing step towards tourism over more recent years. The company recently took over the popular Terme Jezercica from its previous owners, Zrinka and Ivana Lekic who are also known as owners of various nursing/care homes for the elderly and infirm. Graciano Rudan, the founder and owner of Rudan, also took over the management position at Terme Jezercica. Rudan reveals that his company has so far invested around 200 million kuna in various tourism projects.

As for Terme Jezercica, Rudan notes that his company's spatial plan envisages the construction of another high-category hotel, and the existing hotel will be demolished in order to build a new one in its place. He added that the pools remain in good condition considering the fact that they've been recently renovated. He is especially satisfied with the quality of the area's thermal water, which he says is of such quality that it can be used for drinking, which is quite rare.

''Now comes the management team, and then the investments in the area of ​​Terme Jezercica. If everything goes according to plan, it's possible that we'll start part of the investments in Terme Jezercica in September next year. Of course, all this will depend on the speed of drafting projects and obtaining a building permit,'' explained Rudan.

''As a company, Terme Jezercica is currently in the process of merging with Rudan, and this is a process that has already begun, so we're merging the tourism sector with a parent company,'' Rudan pointed out.

In Vodice, the Rudan company has also snapped up Hotel Radin and Hotels Villa Antonina and Arausana over the last few years. They also have a 28 percent stake in Hotels Vodice. Three years ago, they took over the Ucka Hotel on Ucka mountain, and given that this is a devastated hotel and a former INA resort, the hotel, as Graciano Rudan revealed, is currently in its initial design phase. Hotel Ucka otherwise boasts 32 rooms and sports fields on a space covering about 55,000 square metres in total.

As for the last tourist season, Rudan says he is satisfied.

''The tourist season was above our expectations, and when we complete all the projects we planned, we can expect a slow start to return on investment. For now, we're continuing to operate sustainably,'' stated Graciano Rudan.

For more, make sure to check out our business section.

October the 21st, 2021 - Denis Devcic and Ivan Kosovec, two friends who opened the Zagreb Magic Omens facility just a few days ago claim that theirs is the most modernly equipped game room in all of Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, the pair claim that if you're a fan of card of board games, then you'll likely find a great friend in both of them and in their latest venture. In this way, they say, they have fulfilled a long-standing desire to open a space where people can socialise, meet up and play their favourite games.

Devcic and Kosovec have been friends since back in 2018, when they met on the way to the Magic the Gathering tournament in neighbouring Italy. Three years later, they decided to leave their jobs in the very well known Croatian IT companies Infinum and Degordian and head out into the often challenging entrepreneurial waters together; first in the eCommerce world, then in a small physical store, and now they have opened the so-called “LGS” Local Game Store.

As they explain, LGS is a hobby store concept where all fans of board games and card games (so-called TCG-s, ie Trading Card Games) can buy their desired products, and in the store's game room, they can meet like-minded people, try out some new games or participate in tournaments.

“My childhood dream was to own my very own Local Game Store. I started Trading Card Games at the beginning of the millennium and this hobby has since become a very important part of my life. I grew up with Pokemon and Magic the Gathering and now with Magic Omens I'm ready to welcome a new generation of players and build a healthy community of people who share a passion for this hobby,'' said Ivan Kosovec.

In their game room, located on Savska cesta 144A, weekly events for all of people's favourite games will be held, as well as events from the most popular TCGs such as Magic the Gathering cards, Flesh and Blood, Pokemon cards and many other similar games.

Even when there are no organised tournaments, all enthusiasts can come enjoy their favourite games throughout the week at the new Zagreb Magic Omens location.

Devcic and Kosovec claim that due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the demand for social and card games has increased, especially when it comes to the much loved Pokemon TCG. More than 30 billion Pokemon tickets have been sold worldwide so far, the game Magic the Gathering had a profit of 581.2 million US dollars last year, and all this has led to the organisation of tournaments that bring together enthusiasts from all over the world.

In these results, Devcic and Kosovec saw the need to create such a community right here at home in Croatia through a proper space intended just for games. They've invested, they say, their own personal savings and countless hours of work. They will expand the offer of games over time, and they say that they also do well in retail, given the large offer of games that they deliver throughout the European Union (EU).

These young enthusiasts say they first want to build a foundation in the City of Zagreb as the best choice for board and card games, become a regional leader and an example to others, have clear results and make sure the community is satisfied.

"Our goal is to increase the overall community of people who play board and card games, people who could play them, but have never decided on such a hobby. We want as many people as possible to experience this type of entertainment which, in addition to being challenging, enables people to spend more quality time with friends.

After the opening of the Zagreb Magic Omens location, we expect more customers/visitors/players to come because we're in the centre, but also because we have tournaments and game rooms. People are already delighted and the attendance level is very high because people recommend each other. Word-of-mouth seems to do its thing. We have very strong community support in this initiative and we've heard a lot of praise from some longtime players.

We're focused on customers and we listen to what they need and we want to make it all possible for them. The interest is just incredibly high and we’re sure it’s only going to grow because we really care about all the players. I believe that we can do wonderful things in Croatia,'' concluded Denis Devcic.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.