ZAGREB, March 31, 2019 - The President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Madeleine Moon, visited the northern Croatian town of Varaždin on Sunday on the occasion of the 10th anniversary since Croatia joined the alliance.

Moon and parliamentary delegations of NATO member states, who had met in Zagreb for a meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Standing Committee on Friday and Saturday, were hosted by Varaždin County Prefect Radimir Čačić, who showed them the historical sights of the town and spoke of its past and present.

Moon said that Saturday was a working day for the delegation, when they discussed the alliance's activity and Croatian views which were presented by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, while Sunday was reserved for getting to know the member state.

She said it is important to visit towns like Varadžin and feel the cultural roots of member states to remind oneself what the alliance defends and why it safeguards peace, freedom and security for its member states.

Miroslav Tuđman, the head of the Croatian Parliament Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, said: "NATO is not just a military alliance but also a community of states that share the same values. Varaždin is a good example showing the continuity of Croatian statehood and cultural heritage. We can be proud to be able to show this aspect to the members of the Standing Committee so that they can see that we have a far longer tradition both in culture and in statehood than some other members."

Čačić presented Varaždin County as one of the most industrially developed regions in Croatia and one that absorbs the most funding from the European Union. He said that last year his county participated in NATO's IT-assisted military exercise programme.

More news about Croatia and NATO can be found in the Politics section.

March 20, 2019 - It was once among the top brands in all former Yugoslavia, its fashion sought after internationally. Are good times coming back to Varteks in the 101st year of its history? TCN learns more about the digital revolution from Varteks CEO and member of the 2018 Financial Times top 100 digital champions, Nenad Bakic.

In my many years of living in the Soviet Union, Russia, Georgia and finally Croatia, the scenes have been depressingly all too familiar. The once great Socialist system, whose factories not only employed most of the locals, but defined a town or city, lay in ruins, its once-proud factories abandoned, as well as those once guaranteed jobs and all sense of hope. Ghost towns where once thriving communities existed, fed by the factory that defined most aspects of the regular way of life. 

Having moved from Hvar to a village near Varazdin a  couple of years ago, it did not take long for the shadow of former fashion giant Varteks to make itself known. 

Varteks WAS Varazdin for the longest time. This gorgeous Baroque city (yes, I do really think it is the prettiest in all Croatia) and a former capital before Zagreb, was synonymous with the local textile factory, which at its height had no less than 187 prime pieces of real estate selling their high-quality wares all over former Yugoslavia. And abroad. Varteks suits did a brisk trade in Italy, UK, USA and Switzerland, to name but some Western markets where the company had an established presence. 

At its height, Varteks employed no less than 11,500 people, with production facilities all over Varazdin Country. Levi jeans were produced in Novi Marof, and there were other production facilities in Ludbreg and Ivanic, as well as the mother ship in Varazdin itself. 

Croatian industry is all but non-existent these days, with the Homeland War putting paid to much of that, but in the case of Varteks, the company continued after the war, but it was soon a shadow of its former glory. While the quality of its product never wavered and it continued to sew for some of the world's top fashion brands, as well as producing its own lines of clothing, the workforce was literally decimated from 11,500 to 1,200, and crippling losses (800 million kuna - about 110 million euro) over ten years brought the once proud company to its knees. 

(The 1937 catalogue, when Varteks was trading under its previous name of Tivar)

One of Croatia's leading entrepreneurs, Nenad Bakic, took over the reins as CEO last year, the 100th year of the company's existence. 

Bakic has a no-nonsense approach to life and a clear vision of how things should be done. It is one of the qualities he possesses that led The Financial Times to include him in the list of Top 100 Digital Champions of Europe in 2018. 

(Queen Elizabeth II at a Birmingham trade show with the then Vartkes CEO in 1967) 

Bakic quickly grasped that Varteks had an incredible heritage and brand awareness in the region, but also desperately needed to modernise its marketing approach. 

He took over the company as it celebrated its 100th year, and a really outstanding exhibition to mark the centenary is on display at the Varazdin City Museum until the end of this month. If you can't make it, check out the video tour above. 

Varteks suits and commercial clothing have been at the cutting edge of fashion and technology throughout the company's existence. 

It ran a successful mail-order catalogue business, for example, some time before this 50-year-old correspondent was even born. 

A quite delightful promo video from the Varteks archives above - seeing how the Varteks catalogue and clothes delivery service affected the lives of a normal family. The year is 1967. 

(From the 100 Years of Varteks exhibition - Levi Strauss, Varazdin-style)

But the all-too depressingly familiar story of industrial decay may not be the final chapter of the Varteks story. Nenad Bakic and his team have a clear vision of how to reestablish the Varteks brand, playing on its strengths of its proud history, branding and exceptional quality and adding innovative digital campaigns to complete refocus the Varteks brand and target market. 

I caught up with Bakic in his Varteks office in Varazdin yesterday, where he was kind enough to spare time for an interview. In his own words:

"Varteks was the largest and most important clothing and fashion company in ex Yugoslavia. But it has been in constant decline I would say for the last 50 years. People have noticed the decline in the last 12-15 years when year on year losses accumulated to more than 100 million euro, which ate most its substance (assets), but it has in fact been declining for many more years than that. 

"It was founded in 1918 by Czechs from Moravia, and it quickly became the most important textile company in former Yugoslavia.

(Airline crew, hunters, hotel workers, and musicians - there was a Varteks uniform of quality for all) 

"As textile markets declined and foreign markers were lost, the company concentrated on sewing for other labels. This is what we continue to do in our two factories, sewing for Hugo Boss and other global labels.

"Then we have a second business in producing very high-quality uniforms to NATO standards, for special forces, police uniforms, corporate clothing and so on.

(From the 100 Years of Varteks exhibition - Varteks was much more than just a factory, it was a community, a way of life) 

"And our third line of business, which is our main focus now is on our own brands and retail. Varteks used to have the largest retail network in ex-Yugoslavia, some 187 stores in all. These were mostly sold to cover the constant losses. And so Varteks is no longer a big player as before in the region, and companies such as Zara or H&M are ten times larger than Varteks today. But in people's minds, Varteks is still a huge company, I would say, and it is also the only relevant Croatian brand which survived.

(Bakic gave an excellent presentation on the digital revolution at Varteks at last week's Digital Takeover conference, organised by 24 Sata, in Zagreb) 

"Now we also have smaller designers in Croatia, who are also successful, but these are all small businesses. But out of the larger clothing and fashion houses, Varteks is the only one left. 

"But a year ago, it was bankrupt, again, and this time there were no assets to cover the losses. So when I became more active as a supervisory board member and now CEO, we decided on a very clear direction towards quality and reestablishing the presence of our brand.

(Campaigns such as Vintage Varteks and Imperfect Man in a Perfect Suit have been unqualified successes) 

"We are working hard to reestablish the quality of the brand. The quality of the brand has always been high, but perhaps sometimes not on the level of some of the brands imported to the Croatian market. 

"With regard to the quality of the fashion and clothing, we are aiming for extremely high levels, so we are now putting in our stores the highest quality suits and clothing. 

(Several prominent Croats have been proud to join the campaign to resurrect this Croatian industry with so much potential, including Mate Rimac, owner of Rimac Automobili, who is taking the automobile world by storm with his electric cars and technology)

"We produce for some of the largest brands in Europe. So the quality is there but two things were missing. 

"Firstly, the design did not always follow the latest fashion, and we have fixed that. And the second was the marketing approach. 

"I would say now that we are far and away the most innovative fashion company in Croatia when it comes to marketing. We have several marketing initiatives and we are developing a very broad portfolio now. So we have the highest quality suits in our limited edition, but we have also entered a new niche of suits for young people.

(What to wear when you are presenting the fastest electric supercar in the world at the Geneva International Motor Show? A Varteks suit of course!)

"This was one of our new ideas to team up with gamers, where we have a new collection of suits for the younger generation. We are mutually reinforcing our brand, and as you can see from their social media statuses, they are also very proud to be part of our initiative, and to be ambassadors for our suits."

(Two men who bring hope for Croatia, both on The Financial Times list of top 100 digital champions of Europe in 2018 - Mate Rimac, left, and Nenad Bakic)

Tell me about the Varteks Modabus.

(Selling the Varteks way in 1937)

"Here we have something which I am really proud of, and it is something that can be presented at any retail conference worldwide. What we have done is taken something which is very old in retail – the moving shop. When they used to sell Coca Cola in the Wild West 100 years ago, or even Tivar (as Varteks used to be called), they did so with a moving shop, which was usually in the form of a moving truck. 

(Selling the Varteks way in 2019, with Varazdin man, World Cup coach Zlatko Dalic in the middle)

"We have taken that from history and reinterpreted the idea by taking the largest possible bus, which has 40m2 inside. So it can really function as a presentation like a modern shop, but it is also paired up with the online shop.

"So what is the customer journey? The customer feels very welcome and comfortable inside the shop. It has changing rooms so customers can try, but we don't sell anything in the bus. All the items have a QR code, and they can scan the QR code, which goes through to our webshop. From there it is just one click to SMS/WhatsApp/Email confirmation with a coupon which offers a 10% discount if they buy within 36 hours. 

"So the customer journey involves using the oldest possible method of retail – the mobile shop – with the latest technology and webshop. I am very proud of this concept. Plus, as Varteks sold most of its shops all over the country, it sends a strong message to our customers that we are coming back to the places we used to be present, and also that we are agile, modern and responsive to new trends."

(TCN with Varteks CEO Nenad Bakic in Varazdin. I am not in a Varteks suit... yet.) 

Are you planning on taking the bus outside of Croatia?

"Our next goal is to visit Bosnia and Hercegovina, as we have a market presence there. We are now trying to reestablish Varteks in Slovenia, and we have webshop deliveries to Slovenia now. Internationally, we will see. Currently, we have fantastic quality at great prices, but no brand presence in most other countries, so we will probe those markets through the webshop and see."

Check out the Varteks website and webshop. 

To learn more about progress in the Varteks story and Nenad Bakic's other initiatives, follow the dedicated TCN page here.  

The first Nordic walking festival will take place in Varaždinska county on March 23rd, organized by the Nordic Walking Association Drava Varaždin, with their partners the County, the County's Tourist Board and Croatian Nordic Walking Association.

Nordic walking is one of the terms used for fitness walking using specially designed poles - and that's why sometimes it's also called pole walking. The main advantage of the discipline is the fact that Nordic walkers use more of their entire body, thus receiving fitness stimulation not present in normal walking in their upper bodies.

The idea of the festival is to bring together the promotion of the Nordic walking in Croatia and the promotion of the natural beauty and tradition and heritage of the most interesting sites in the Varaždin County. One of the reasons the first festival will be held in Trakošćan is to also commemorate World Water Day, a day when international community should think about the goal of making fresh water available to everyone on Earth by 2030.

Natalija Martinčević, head of Varaždin County Tourist Board says that the County is always ready for new ideas to expand what they have to offer to tourists and that it's important to bring together the tourism, natural beauty and heritage of the County, and combining all of that with health through Nordic walking is an excellent approach. Just about everyone can participate in Nordic walking, members of all generations and entire families together, so the Festival is a great opportunity for families to spend time outdoors, at the beginning of the spring - in wonderful Trakošćan.

The event will start at 9 am, with the registration of the walkers, a welcome drink, and warm-up and stretching exercises for all. After that, the walks will start, and there will be 4 routes to pick from, based on your level of fitness: you can either join the group doing two laps around the Trakošćan lake (10 km), one lap (5 km), half a lap (2.5 km) or beginner's walk around the castle. All participants and their families can purchase tickets to the castle at a 50% discount, and after all walkers are finished, a guided tour of the castle will take place. If you register for the event until March 18th, you will also be getting lunch at Trakošćan (included in your entry fee). To enter the event, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ZAGREB, February 5, 2019 - Zagreb is the third and Varaždin the fourth city in the world in terms of citizens who have committed to participate in this year's International Winter Bike to Work Day on February 8, the Croatian Cyclists' Union said on Tuesday.

International Winter Bike to Work Day was launched in Canada in 2013 as a friendly competition between cities and countries around the world. It takes place annually on the second Friday in February, the Union said.

Zagreb won the competition for three years in a row thanks to those who committed to cycling to work that day at least. Novi Sad, Serbia won last year's competition.

"Currently we are in third place and Varaždin is just behind," the Cyclists' Union said, adding that the people of the two cities did not need a special day to cycle to work, even in winter.

The Union invited citizens from all over Croatia to register at www.winterbiketoworkday.org and show that there are many who cycle irrespective of the weather.

This year the weather is extremely favourable, unlike the below zero temperatures in recent years, the Union said, adding that it would offer a cyclist's breakfast at a secret Zagreb location on Friday "as an incentive and a thank-you to those who leave cars at home, thus reducing the insufferable traffic jams and air pollution."

More news on cycling in Croatia can be found in the Lifestyle section.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 28th of January, 2019, throughout the course of this year, Varaždin County will continue to invest heavily in education and healthcare thanks to European Union money, in addition, the county is going to busy launching some brand new, important projects.

This year, Varaždin County, the first in Croatia to do so, begins with the implementation of a very significantt project, financing school meals for secondary school students at risk of poverty. This is one of the newer and by far most important projects foreseen in the budget for 2019.

"We first introduced free [school] transportation and textbooks, and we're also starting to finance meals for high school students who are at risk of poverty. As many as 30 percent of primary school students are at risk of poverty, and we've provided free meals for all of them.

Since everyone is continuing to study, this problem isn't just going to disappear, and it's also necessary to finance meals for the most vulnerable kids in secondary schools,'' said county prefect Radimir Čačić. In the budget for 2019, 3.45 million kuna is planned to go towards pupil nutrition. The continued implementation of another new project is still going on, which is student accommodation, for which 526,000 kuna was provided, almost twice as much as 2018.

Investments in the construction and in several cases reconstruction of as many as twenty different schools is anticipated.

"In 2019, 227 million kuna will be invested in school facilities, and health and social care facilities. The increase is best seen in the consolidated budget, which amounts to 1.2 billion kuna, representing 25 percent more than last year,'' added Varaždin County Prefect Čačić.

In other areas, an innovative incentive scheme for farmers through the use of EU funds is of particularly interest. Thanks to this, the number of farmers who secured their crops and livestock has increased from 5 back in 2017 to a very encouraging 357 in 2018, and this year, further increases in the number of beneficiaries is expected.

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for more.

Did you know that most celebrated coaches in Croatia come from Varaždin?

The Varaždin-based Croatian company Varteks has been producing dresses, coats, jackets and other clothing for specialised purposes, including uniforms for the Croatian Army, the police and the like for 101 years now.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 23rd of January, 2019, in three production plants in a complex of red brick buildings in the centre of Varaždin, several hundred workers are working daily in one shift on quality garment collections. In Varaždin's Varteks, 24sata journalists were welcomed and hosted by Nenad Bakić, president of Varteks' administration. He took them through all three production facilities. That day, designers who came to Varteks presented Bakić and his associates the new women's collection - business elegance.

''First, we do prototypes of the clothing, then after consultations they go off for additional finishing should that be necessary. After that, we make a collector's sample, a hand-made version that is produced in a small number of copies. If there are no more changes to be made, we make and launch the product,'' explained Bakić. Currently, Varteks is launching its latest elegant collection made with younger people in mind, called Varteks Young.

''We can split production into several phases. Everything begins with the tailor, from the threading and onwards. There, the machine cutter does almost everything itself according to the instructions on the screen. After that, sewing begins. All the parts from the cutter are picked up and people connect them in smaller segments. Then everything is shifted into the assembly, the middle part of production, where some segments are assembled and come to the end with finishing and the final ironing. After that, what's most important to us is quality control. If everything is fine, the goods are sent to the warehouse and are made ready for shipping, to our stores or to our customers,'' explained Miljenko Vidaček, production manager at Varteks. He adds that it takes about four hours to make a suit.

Varteks produces a very wide range of merchandise, its production manager emphasises the fact that Varteks is among the most flexible companies in this part of Europe as a whole.

''We were coming to the end, pre-bankruptcy. We're incredibly grateful to Mr. Bakić for the fact that we're still here,'' Varteks' grateful employees conclude.

For more information on Croatian companies, products and services, as well as doing business in Croatia and the overall business and investment climate, follow our dedicated business page.

The love of cycling and knowledge of CAD programming are the primary tools that Nino Dušak, the entrepreneur and owner of the HardCore Industry company, used to create a unique bicycle frame model. His project implements an innovative approach to solving the problem of constructing downhill bicycles and brings advanced aeronautical and naval technology into bicycle production, reports Poslovni.hr on January 4, 2019.

“I was involved in mountain biking and bicycle riding for 15 years. During my education, I acquired skills like 3D CAD design, which was enough to start with the modelling of the first prototype,” explains Dušak, who deals with the design and construction of composite frames for downhill bicycles. As a consumer in this segment of cycling, he recognized the drawbacks of other manufacturers, prompting him to develop an even better bike frame.

“The composite materials were interesting because of their small mass. Thanks to the further development of the materials, the current prototype frame weighs just 2,910 grams. We have managed to create a light and strong material for bicycle frames which are not affected by forces that are a problem for other manufacturers,” says Dušak.

He founded the HardCore Industry company in April last year with the aim of developing and manufacturing composite frames for mountain biking. The company is located at the Varaždin Technology Park, where Dušak and his associates are currently involved in the development and testing of bicycle frames. After the next investment round, they will place the product on the market.

One of the HardCore Industry team members is Jan Cimperman, the 13th best EU rider last year who tests the company's frames at the European and World Cup races. Part of the team is the Black Shadows Syndicate, involved in the creation of media content. “We have a lot of inquiries from distributors and end customers. HardCore Industry as a brand manufactures hand-made limited-series frames, and our goal is to reach the end user as quickly as possible," says Dušak.

The first testing took place in April this year in Sanremo, Italy, followed by Mandelieu-la Napoule in France. They also attended the world championship in Portugal. “We also went to the Downhill World Cup in Lošinj, the entire Slovenian Cup, and at the end the IXS Cup in Kranjska Gora. In February, we will go back to France and then Sanremo,” explains Dušak.

His entrepreneurial journey started in 2017 by signing up for "Start Your Own", a support programme for entrepreneurial projects in Croatia. HardCore Industry was one of the six selected projects among 432 applications, receiving financial resources and business support for project development.

“After winning the competition, I had enough funds to create the first prototype, which was the starting point for development that eventually resulted in another prototype that will be turned into a product ready for the market with the next round of investment,” says Dušak, who expects first revenue in mid-2019.

He says there are many great ideas in Croatia that have significant added value, but many of them fail due to the administrative burden. “Costs of ideas that require the development of products that generate money later are too large for individuals to finance their projects," says Dušak.

After the next round of investment and the start of production, there will be at least one more position created in the company. “Our business will be self-sustaining, and we plan to expand to other branches of mountain biking, as well as to city bikes,” concludes Nino Dušak.

More news on the Croatian entrepreneurs can be found in our Made in Croatia section.

Translated from Poslovni.hr (reported by Lucija Špiljak).

December 1, 2018 - The Christmas spirit has arrived in many towns in Croatia, nowhere more so than Advent in Varazdin, which this year looks like the best ever.

Advent fever has struck Croatia, and the previously quiet month of December has been transformed, as even the smallest towns and villages seem to be playing their part in making Croatia Full of Life at this traditionally quiet time of year. The success of Advent in Zagreb seems to be rippling down to other parts of the country, and a recent post from Croatia Feeds on the richness of the Advent programme in Croatia shows just how far this late-season tourism opportunity has spread. 

If there is one city in Croatia whose charm lends itself to the festive Christmas spirit, it has to be Varazdin. The former capital of Croatia has a gorgeous and compact Baroque old town, whose timeless streets are the perfect backdrop to a winter celebration. Come in summer for Croatia's largest street festival, Spancirfest, and you will fall in love with the city, but Advent in Varazdin is an altogether different experience. 

Advent in Varazdin in previous years has perhaps not always lived up to its sensational location, but it seems this year will be very different, with many more events planned, including a first for Croatia - an ice slide. Opening on December 5 in the grounds of gorgeous Varazdin Castle, the ice slide will be accompanied by a skating rink, as well as igloos, a true winter setting to enjoy the excellent local mulled wine. 

This year's Advent in Varazdin will run from December 1 to January 6, with a much bigger concentration around the castle. There will be more than 70 events in all and the gastronomic offer and the weekend club music programme will be located close to the Old Town - at Miljenko Stancic Square, while the famous music names will be performed every Saturday at the main Varazdin Square - King Tomislav.

Click here for the full programme from the Varazdin County Tourist Board.

Take a look at Advent in Varazdin last year in the video below. 

Want to learn more about this magical city outside romantic Advent in Varazdin? Here are 25 things to know about one of Croatia's most beautiful cities.

One Croatian company which deals primarily with Information Technology has launched a praiseworthy project with the help of European Union funds. The project will see around 100 new work position opened.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 24th of November, 2018, one year ago, the laying of the foundation stones of the business took place. Today, located in the ​​Jalkovec entrepreneurial zone near Varaždin, the new business space belonging to Mobilisis d.o.o., which produces modern, innovative IT infrastructure for industrial process management, as well as mobile collection and data transfer, has been officially opened.

The construction and equipping of the brand new building, which will greatly increase the company's production capacities, has been co-financed by European Union funds, via the means of a tender from the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts. Namely, within the framework of the public call for the ''competence and development of small and medium enterprises", the aforementioned company announced its project, entitled "increasing the production capacities of Mobilisis d.o.o. with the building of a new business space and investing in equipment'' amounting to more than 38 million kuna, of which a total of 13.7 million kuna in non-refundable funds was granted.

As the director of the company Krešimir Meštrić pointed out at the opening ceremony, this investment will enable the doubling of sales revenue and also enable further development in line with global trends.

"Today, we're not just opening the building here, but we're opening up more than 100 jobs, at a location which was just a meadow a few years ago. We couldn't have created a better space conversion [than this one]. But with this greenfield investment, the owners of the company have taken a great deal of responsibility upon themselves because this project represents only the physical fulfillment of the conditions. Ahead of us lie the realisation of the plans, but I believe that in this way, we've shown the path and the ambitions that we need to have, which must work to give us confidence and encourage positive trends,'' said Mestrić, emphasising the fact that not only will the company's realised ideas and innovations be created there, but they will also aim to attract business partners from all over the world.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and Made in Croatia pages for more encouraging Croatian company stories.