State Workers Don't Work

State companies have too many employees who work too little, and report made by the World Bank is not suprising, says Munjiza.

State companies have too many employees who work too little, and report made by the World Bank is not suprising, says Munjiza.

In spite of recession, Gastro Group expects to make 2.5 billion kunas by the end of the year and their total profit should be around 900 million kunas . They also made 965 million kunas during first six months of 2009.

State businesses work too little, private too much

Asked to make a comment regarding World Bank’s report which paints Croats as lazy, Munjiza says that report paints them like that for a reason.

- It probably refers to public companies, while here in Gastro Group, I have not met one single unproductive worker – he says. He also states that public companies certainly employ too many people, which naturally, leads to procrastination. This evaluation cannot be applied to private sector in which employees work too much – he concludes.

Gastro Group – 17 percent of Croatian market

-Since summer months are crucial for us, we expect to see increase in business – he added.

Munjiza hopes that this year’s profit will be the same, or at least close, to last year's. Gastro Group currently covers about 17 percent of Croatian market.

However, Munjiza also mentions that beer sales have been down (11 percent), and that non-alcoholic beverages dropped as well. He believes that market situation is getting worse, but feels grateful for the long summer.

The only things improving are beer sales, while trade in vine and water is still dropping – he says.

As far as Gastro Group’s business plans are concern they are planning further expansion to the neighboring Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are also preparing to present Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Federal government with new development proposal during this fall.

Regional Expansion

- Serbia already has a company similar to ours and we plan to present them with ‘know how’ proposal. If they accept, we will probably cooperate with them and monitor their progress more closely – he added.

Besides this, he also mentioned that connecting to other companies and expanding to larger markets would allow them to drop their product prices. Another business strategy that they are currently considering is the sale of 28 percent of company's shares. They plan to offer them to their largest suppliers.

In regards to their employees, Ivana Vidusin, education and advertising director, says that Gastro employs around 1800 workers, it owns 550 delivery vehicles, 50 retail stores and 190 distribution centers.

Retail sites, which are of a secondary interest to Gastro Group, make about 18 percent of the total profit. According to that principle, only successful retailers get regularly supported and promoted by Gastro Group’s management.