December the 13th, 2022 - The Croatian chain Konzum has put having a sporting spirit before an extra hour of doing business by shortening their working hours today. They have warned people to come and buy what they need before time.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, given that the remarkable Croatian national football team has entered the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar and that fan euphoria is at its peak at this moment in time, the large Croatian chain Konzum has decided that today (Tuesday, December the 13th), their stores will remain open only until 20:00.

There are several exceptions to this, with some stores located within larger shopping centres remaining open and in operatation according to their regular working hours (until 21:00)

Customers are as such invited to come and make their purchases on time, as even the people who aren't remotely interested in football and hoping to do their shopping during the match will need to come earlier in most cases.

For more, check out our news section.

October 24, 2022 - Konzum enabled its customers to pay via the KEKS Pay application in its webshop and in all stores, making it the first retail chain of consumer goods in Croatia to introduce this type of payment.

As Poslovni writes, the service is available to all customers, regardless of the bank where they have an account. This way, they can easily pay for groceries, household and hygiene items and other products from Konzum's vast offer. The popular payment application, which as many as 300,000 users currently use, is another technological step forward by Konzum to provide customers with the best possible service and shopping experience.

"Since we have more than 600 stores and serve more than half a million customers daily, we take care to respond to their needs as best as possible. We know that the ability to choose a payment method is an important item nowadays. We want to be and remain the first choice for our customers, which is why we continuously introduce the best technologies and innovations. The introduction of payment through the KEKS Pay application is another step forward with which we want to simplify and further improve the shopping experience in Konzum. We will continue to invest in the development of innovations and listen to the needs of our customers to continue providing them with a premium experience," said Ines Barbir, director of the Business Applications Sector.

You need to install the free KEKS Pay application on your smartphone to use this service. Customers can pay the bill very simply, i.e. by scanning the QR code with the help of the application, whether at a regular or self-checkout cash register in physical stores or when purchasing in Konzum's webshop. Dejan Donev, Director of the Digital Banking Sector at Erste Bank, is also satisfied with the cooperation with Konzum.

"KEKS Pay in webshops and at points of sale enables payment with just one swipe of the finger, without tedious copying of card data, which users accept very quickly. Our experience has shown that once customers pay with the KEKS Pay application, they continue to pay in the same way in the future. In addition, users can register not only their debit cards or account but also their credit cards in the application itself, which allows them to choose the type of payment when paying. That's why I believe that Konzum's customers will very quickly recognise the benefits of the KEKS Pay application as a payment method," said Donev.

Konzum is continuously digitalising its operations and introducing innovative payment methods. In addition to the increasing number of self-checkout and cashless cash registers, Konzum also introduced payment in cryptocurrencies through the PayCek platform for processing cryptocurrencies in a fast, simple and secure way. Customers can also opt for any type of payment at the self-checkout counters, which have proven a reliable and very efficient Konzum service.

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

September the 28th, 2022 - As of tomorrow, the large Croatian shopping chain, Konzum, is set to lock the prices of 100 of its products until the end of this year as inflation continues to bite.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, as of Thursday, September the 29th, Konzum will lock the maximum prices of 100 of its products from the basic consumer basket in order to help its loyal customers in the challenging current situation in which the prices of almost all foodstuffs are continuously increasing. These 100 products come from a whole range of categories that aren't covered by the decision of the Croatian Government on direct measures to control the prices of certain food products, which came at a cost of about 40 million kuna for Konzum.

These locked prices will not change until the end of this year, but they may still be further reduced. At the same time, customers using the Konzum MultiPlusCard card will be able to purchase up to 1,500 products at a lower price from September the 29th. MultiPlusCard prices will be lower by an average of 20 percent, which is the total value of the discount in the amount of 60 million kuna.

"We're the market leader and our every move is closely monitored. The situation we're in isn't easy for anyone, especially for our customers, and that's why we constantly, through numerous initiatives, try to make their everyday life as easy as possible.

This isn't only a question of our social responsibility, but also of our obligations and our influence as the largest retail chain in all of Croatia. I believe that even with this latest move, with which we'll lock in the maximum prices of another 100 products and provide additional benefits to MultiPlusCard users, our customers will recognise our efforts to reduce their household budget costs,'' said Zoran Mitreski, president of the Konzum Management Board.

The Konzum products which will have their prices locked are from the categories of fruit and vegetables, fresh meat and fish, dairy and bakery products, frozen products, products from the chain's delicatessen, canned foods, beverages, hygiene products for both children and adults, cleaning products and others, and more information available is on Konzum's website.

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

July the 15th, 2022 - The huge Croatian shopping chain Konzum is set to begin showing the prices of the items on their shelves in both kuna and euros as Croatian Eurozone accession rapidly approaches.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, starting this week, Konzum will proactively start with the dual display of prices for products and services in both kuna and euros, and in this way, even before the official obligation on the dual display of prices comes into force on September the 5th, 2022, all customers shopping in Konzum's stores will have an insight into the prices of products and in the new currency that the Republic of Croatia will officially introduce on the first day of 2023.

All items on Konzum's ample shelves will have their prices expressed in both Croatian kuna and euros and a fixed conversion rate amount of 7.53450 kuna to the euro, and the change of all labels in Konzum's more than 600 stores will be done by the end of July.

The double display of prices even before the legal obligation is a continuation of the company's wider policy of open and transparent relations with its customers. One of the similar examples of this was Konzum's price reduction of over a thousand items back in February of this year in accordance with the decision of the Croatian Government to reduce VAT, and it was the first retail chain in all of Croatia to do so even before the decision came into force in April.

"A transparent relationship with our customers is imperative for our business, on the basis of which we earn and strengthen their trust day by day. We always strive to be open in everything we do, including in this challenging period of the introduction of the euro. We started with the preparations on time and our employees are ready to continue with all the stages of implementation of these historic changes in order to help our customers adapt to the transition to the country's new currency as easily as possible,'' said Zoran Mitreski, President of Konzum's Management Board.

The entire process of introducing the euro in Croatia is being divided into three phases, and Konzum has been monitoring each of them with its own activities. The first one refers to the display of dual prices and a fixed exchange rate, the implementation of which Konzum has already begun. Double prices will be displayed until December the 31st, 2023 on all products on sale in all Konzum stores, including on the online store. Prices in both currencies will be displayed throughout the entire process of selecting and purchasing items – on the store shelves, in online shopping carts, during the checkout process and during an order confirmation when purchasing goods online, as well as on all issued receipts.

The second phase will begin on January the 1st, 2023 with the official introduction of the euro in Croatia, and it is important to note that it will remain possible to pay in kuna until January the 14th of the same year, with refunds being given only in euros.

The third phase refers to the period from January the 15th, 2023, when the euro will be the only currency with which customers will be able to pay in Konzum's stores.

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

December the 2nd, 2021 - Electrocoin and Konzum are the main players in the currently largest cooperation in the domestic cryptocurrency market - after implementing the service for several months and then testing it out for a couple of weeks, Konzum cryptocurrency shopping/payment is now permitted.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes, in the near future, services will be available in Konzum stores; for a start in 60 of them where they have self-serving cash registers, and soon after in all 630 small, medium and large stores throughout the Republic of Croatia.

Noticing the growing interest in the use of cryptocurrencies in the world, including right here in Croatia, the largest domestic retail chain, Konzum, decided to turn more strongly to the younger population that has more or less totally embraced the cryptoworld, all in cooperation with Electrocoin, one of the fastest growing Croatian cryptocurrency brokerage companies.

"This is definitely a step into something new for Konzum and for the retail market in Croatia. We're offering our customers some new opportunities and technologies. Konzum has proven its leading position in the market so many times when it comes to technological innovations, and we are, as with the introduction of Google Pay and Apple Pay, happy to have a new opportunity to improve the shopping experience in line with the latest trends. These investments are in line with the process of digital transformation of the Fortenova Group, including Konzum as its largest member,'' stated Uros Kalinic, a member of the Management Board of Konzum who is in charge of finance and informatics.

The collaboration to make Konzum cryptocurrency payment possible began one year ago when Electrocoin experts brought Konzum's team closer to the crypto market here in Croatia and showcased the affinity of domestic consumers for it.

"As this isn't the first time that we've introduced new opportunities, our team is already in tune with it. The field of informatics, led by director Jozo Dzakul and director of the business applications sector Ines Barbir, is always up to the task, so this time too there were no surprises during the project. We applied an agile methodology for the project, it lasted a couple of months, several Konzum systems were included in the project, and Konzum Informatics, mStart, the team from Eletrocoin and other partners were all included. The testing itself lasted a couple of weeks and several teams participated in it, a total of about 20 people,'' said Kalinic.

In this pre-Christmas period, the weight of what's in the average shopping trolley increases, so this period is a great opportunity for customers to try out this method of payment. Kalinic pointed that out that he is happy that they can conclude a challenging year with such an innovation.

"Just like back in 2002 when we recognised the value of the market for buying groceries over the Internet, now we're looking forward yet again and recognising the trends that are yet to come. Payment with cryptocurrencies is certainly still in its infancy here in Croatia, but the experience of our partner Electrocoin justifies this investment. Just as our customers use banking applications for electronic payments, we believe that this service will get its share as far as transactions go as well. From year to year we see a decrease in the share of cash transactions, which is logical in the age of digitalisation and coronavirus, when cash payments have been discouraged for epidemiological reasons.

This is a new option for some of our customers who are more technologically advanced, but also own cryptocurrencies. When we talk about the industry, I expect that some other chains will follow us in this step forward and that they'll also recognise the potential in this new market segment. During the test period, we tried to anticipate possible obstacles that might await us. Of course, we're ready for surprises and quick reaction in case of the need for some adjustments or corrections in the system,'' added Kalinic.

Thanks, among other things, to Electrocoin, the Republuc of Croatia is growing in parallel with the rest of the world in the fast-growing cryptocurrency market. In February this year, they launched a kind of revolution in Croatia by announcing cooperation with Tifon, at whose fuel stations throughout Croatia people can pay for fuel in cryptocurrencies.

This cooperation made them accessible throughout Croatia, but also helped their visibility, which gave Electrocoin additional impetus, given that many new customers contacted them after the news of their cooperation with Tifon.

“Traffic is growing; last month, with 8.8 million kuna, we almost reached the ''mythical'' 10 million kuna mark, which two years ago looked like a figure from the imagination, but this cooperation helped us attract both traders and buyers,'' pointed out the head of Electrocoin, Nikola Skoric, who, back in February, announced several projects with some big players. He believes that their cooperation with Konzum and the ability to make Konzum cryptocurrency purchases will further increase the company's turnover and enable them greater visibility, but this time - at the European level.

For more, check our dedicated lifestyle section.

October the 3rd, 2021 - Konzum has officially taken over the Istrian Miracolo shopping chain, which the well known Croatian shopping giant has expressed its satisfaction with.

Just four years ago, Konzum was associated with the failing Agrokor, which had fallen into disarray under the leadership of its former boss, Ivica Todoric. What then seemed like rocky times and high seas for the shopping brand which can be found all over Croatia, now seems to firmly be in the past.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, this business move and take over by Konzum has completed 2021's expantion of the retail network across Istria and Kvarner, and as many as 101 stores will be located within that general area.

"It's a great feeling to be in this role again. The takeover of the Istrian Miracolo is just part of a series of good news from Konzum this year in which we're recording very good results, we've had a great season and we are a key player in the integration processes within retail in the Fortenova Group (former Agrokor).

The new thirteen stores and 55 people in Kozum's large family are our new strength in Istria and Kvarner, where we now have over 100 stores. Such a position strengthens Konzum, but more importantly, it ensures quality and secure supply, especially during the tourist season,'' said Zoran Mitreski, President of the Management Board of Konzum when speaking about the company's take over of the Istrian Miracolo chain.

For more information on Croatian companies, investments and more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

ZAGREB, 6 June, 2021 - The Golden Basket for the best retailer in 2020 was awarded to the Konzum retail chain, Cromaris was the best producer, and Zagreb's Plac.hr was the best small retailer, the Ja Trgovac website said earlier this week.

The award ceremony for the Golden Basket, an annual award for best achievements in the retail sector and consumer goods industry, was organised by the Ja Trgovac website and magazine.

The DM Drogerie Markt won the Golden Basket for socially responsible company of the year, Datalab was technology supplier of the year, and product of the year was Argeta's Gacka trout spread, designed by experts at Atlantic Droga Kolinska.

The editor-in-chief of the Ja Trgovac magazine and website, Goran Pavlović, said that 2020 had been difficult for everyone, and the retail and consumer goods sectors had been the rare bright examples in that challenging time as they had ensured continuous supply of goods to end-users and created preconditions for a normal life, the press release said.

In those conditions it was clear that these were strategic sectors that were a prerequisite for the functioning of other industries and of the society as a whole even in the most difficult circumstances, Pavlović said.

The Golden Basket, he said, provides a platform for presenting the best examples of doing business and highlights their importance in the Croatian economy and society.

The winners were selected by a jury consisting of members from market research agencies, the Deloitte and Oikon companies, the Institute of Economics Zagreb, the Zagreb Faculty of Economics and Business, sectoral associations (HGK, HUP, HOK), the Croatian Consumer Protection Association, the Commercial Trade Union of Croatia and the Ja Trgovac magazine.

For more on business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

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May the 20th, 2021 - One Osijek Konzum store, otherwise one of the largest Konzum stores and the one which has been the source of produce for online shoppers in the Eastern Croatian city of Osijek, has now closed its doors.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writies, Konzum is closing its store in Osijek's largest shopping centre - Portanova. The reason behind the surprising business move, they explained, is part of a continuous business strategy of optimising Konzum's sales network in accordance with current market circumstances and with the aim of increasing the efficiency of the entire system.

The last working day of that particular Osijek Konzum store, which falls under the Super Konzum title, was on Wednesday the 19th of May, and the company has assured that all 37 workers who were formerly employed in the store will be taken care of "in a mutual agreement" following the facility's final closure, according to a report from Vecernji list.

''As a result of the store's closure, all of the workers were allowed to be transferred to new positions in other stores across the City of Osijek and in the suburbs, while one worker announced their retirement. Konzum would like to thank all of its customers who have shopped in the store in Portanova for their trust and loyalty and invite them to continue shopping in one of the fifteen other Konzum stores located in the Osijek area, of which two are Super Konzumi and 4 Maxi Konzumi.

Considering that the store in Portanova was also the central store for online shopping services in the area of ​​Osijek, Super Konzum in Gacka ulica (street) 10 will take over this role, and the people of Osijek will still be able to make purchases from the comfort of their own homes,'' reads the statement from Konzum.

For more, follow our dedicated business page.

April 14, 2021 - The beautiful towels from the Fosen Blue Collection line by the RokOtok project will connect children with seventeen Croatian islands! 

Ribafish reports, by purchasing this special line of towels in Konzum stores throughout Croatia, you are helping the success of a summer educational adventure that was designed together with the Let's Swim and Learn campaign in cooperation with Wib Solutions, a company that creates socially useful business projects.

The new summer adventure begins on July 3, when a cheerful and brave team from Brodarica will set off for the seventeen new inhabited islands of Šibenik and Zadar archipelagos. The plan is to connect one island and the coast with your hands, educate children about medicinal Mediterranean plants, clean the beaches, play, laugh, swim and learn together.

"Projects like RokOtok are a slow return to life for me. Through swimming, we promote sports and a healthier life, in lectures we talk about the importance of ecology, caring for the environment, the importance of talking to children and parents, and we end it with organized games, cleaning the beaches and distributing gifts. Funds from the sale of the towel line will be distributed to materials for cleaning the beaches, arranging them, buying adequate gifts such as an interactive map - coloring books of Croatian islands for all participants and donations to the needy," said Domagoj Jakopović Ribafish.

The pastel blue, pink, green, purple, and white shades of the Swim and Learn towel line come in three attractive sizes, are made of pure cotton, and remind us every day of togetherness, helping each other, and loving children. Funds raised by the purchase of towels, which can be found in Super and Maxi Konzum stores throughout Croatia from April 1, will be donated to the RokOtok Association for support in swimming around the island and continuing to hold children's educational and environmental workshops on the beaches of our beautiful coast.

"Encouraged by the very idea of ​​the RokOtok association, their wonderful projects aimed at the healthy and active development of children through sports, education, and ecology, we set out to design this campaign. I believe that together we will help in their further activities in another, for all of us a very challenging year. 

The RokOtok Association was founded in 2019 by Domagoj Jakopović Ribafish with the aim of promoting a healthy and active life for children and preserving the Croatian coast and islands. During the first summer, 35 members of the Association swam to 17 Croatian islands and organized 18 educational lectures attended by more than 2,000 children and parents. This praiseworthy story was then declared the most beautiful story of the summer. Total Croatia News has been following this undertaking with numerous stories, including doing an amazing interview with Domagoj two years ago. In 2020, the project was on hold because of the pandemic, so we're looking forward to following it again this year!

It is nice to know that Konzum has also recognized the one-year efforts of the Cleaning Bears team to make nature cleaner. So, until May 5, you donate one kuna to each purchased ecological bag to help in further development and operation, and you will also receive a kuna for every purchase with it.

“So, it's a win-win situation in four counties - we will connect forests, sea, and rivers! Join us now or better yet, start the action in your place. Clean, clean! #jednamanje."

For more about ecology in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 20th of October, 2020, the new option of Uber delivering products purchased on Konzum's online store is now available in Zagreb and its surroundings, as well as in Split and Kastela, Rijeka and Kukuljanovo, Dubrovnik and Pula, and the plan is currently to expand the new Croatian delivery service to other cities throughout the country.

From now on, customers buying products on Konzum's online store have the additional option of having their ordered groceries, household and hygiene supplies and other products to their selected address thanks to Konzum's partnership with Uber, which also brings its global DropOff service to Croatia. This new Croatian delivery service is currently available to customers from Zagreb, Sesvete, Samobor, Zapresic, Velika Gorica, Split and Kastela,  as well as in Rijeka and Kukuljanovo, Dubrovnik and Pula.

The buying process has been made very simple. After selecting the desired products on Konzum's online store, the customer should the select the Partner Delivery service and then select their delivery location. Konzum notes that there are additional differences in the use of the Partner Delivery service when compared to the Konzum regular delivery option. Thus, it should be borne in mind that when choosing the Partner Delivery service, Uber drivers pick up the products in stores and therefore it isn't always possible to display the exact stock status on the page in real time.

If a certain product isn't on the store's shelf, Konzum employees will call the customer and check if they want a replacement item. The range available through the Partner Delivery service is narrower than the one available to customers who choose the Konzum delivery option, and the ordered products are delivered to the person's home address, but not to their very doorstep. Payment is made exclusively online, the minimum order amount is 200 kuna, and delivery is charged at 30 kuna regardless of the size of the order. The big advantage of this new Croatian delivery service is the possibility of having your items delivered on the same day, considering that the delivery terms are available to the customer within four hours from the moment of ordering. If it suits the customer better, they can then schedule the delivery for another day, within a week from the day of ordering.

After the customer completes the purchase on Konzum's online store, Konzum schedules their delivery via the Uber Central platform. Confirmation of the scheduled delivery to the customer will arrive via SMS in which they will receive information about the vehicle registration number and the name of the Uber driver, who will contact the customer by phone when they arrive at the corresponding address so that they can pick up the ordered products.

"At Konzum, we're constantly recording an increase in interest in online shopping, and we're striving to provide our customers with an even more pleasant online shopping experience through numerous innovations and investments. In the spring, with the launch of the additional Pokupi (Pickup) service, we enabled them the ability to purchase groceries and other products from the comfort of their own homes even in the most challenging times, and in partnership with Uber we want to offer them a new option so that they can receive their orders at their home address on the same day,'' said Tomislav Kramaric, a member of the Management Board of Konzum.

"We're continuing to work to support the community of our users and drivers during these difficult times. We're pleased to have opened our platform today in cooperation with Konzum, which will speed up food delivery for Croats and help drivers overcome this challenging situation,'' said Giovanna D'Esposito, Uber's General Manager for Southern Europe.

User and driver safety remains a priority for Uber. The company distributed 950 hygiene kits to drivers containing masks, gloves, disinfectant gels and sprays. In addition, Uber has focused its efforts on implementing real-time processes and technology solutions to ensure responsible and safe use of the services at all times. In addition to the new Partner Delivery service, customers still have access to Konzum's regular delivery, the Pokupi/Pickup service and the Drive-in option in Zagreb's Vrbani.

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