“But that’s not all! If you call now…” , there is no one who hasn’t heard or seen this kind of message on television screens in the last twenty years. It started with advertisements for Kosmodisk so that “your back will thank you”, and continued with brands such as Top Shop, Dormeo, Walkmax, Delimano and other “innovative products that make life easier”.
Studio Moderna, the Slovenian company of the once richest Slovenian entrepreneur Sandi Cesko, was behind all of this, which is now on the verge of collapse. But that’s not all! A company whose success was studied at Harvard because it quickly became the leader of direct sales in southern and central Europe from Slovenia, according to the bankruptcy administrator in Croatia, has absolutely no chance of continuing its business.
And everything went perfectly. An aggressive campaign on the TV screens of commercial television in Croatia (and other countries of the region, including Bosnia and Herzegovina – BiH), which began in the nineties, led to the fact that just a few years ago the Croatian branch of the Slovenian company had over 30 of its own stores, over 400 employees, 12 wholesale partners, several call centers, 4 webshops and well-established catalog sales.
Branches were opened and were successful in other countries of the European Union (EU). At one point, there were a total of about eight thousand employees, the revenue was about 500 million euros, and branches were opened in about 20 countries. They counted almost 400 stores.
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia was crucial
The decline started back in 2014 with the first conflicts in Ukraine, loans through Putin’s banks, and accelerated during the pandemic and eventually due to sanctions against Russia. The company’s brands were being sold, employees were protesting about unpaid salaries, and customers were unsatisfied because of the non-delivery of already purchased goods.
The total debts amount to more than 15 million euros, and the property, although it has not been fully assessed so far, will not be enough to pay all the debts. Journalists tried to investigate how it all went down.
An innovative approach that was studied
Behind the success was an innovative approach not only in sales but also in the internal organization of the company, including a multimedia campaign, and the rise of that company is still studied today at Harvard Business School, as well as in many business programs, considering that in a short time became a leader in Central and Eastern Europe. For years, Cesko was the richest Slovenian, whose wealth was estimated at around 334 million euros at one point.
Russia and Ukraine were among the top three markets
Right after the company was taken over by the funds, real problems started for Studio Moderna. The coronavirus epidemic shook the company, and the real blow was the invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in sanctions against Russia. Namely, Russia and Ukraine were among the three largest markets, Biznis Info writes.
E.Dz.
