Nikos Veropoulos, owner of Veropolous – We believed in Serbia 15 years ago as well and will continue to invest

(Nikos Veropolous) The company Veropoulos has been active in Serbia for 15 years now, and as owner Nikos Veropoulos reminds in his interview for eKapija, it was the first foreign retail chain to buy land in Serbia after 2000.

– We founded the company in Serbia in 2002 and were the first ones who believed in making investments in the country, at a time when others had forgotten Serbia and were avoiding it – Veropoulos says.

Today, this family business, founded in Athens in 1973, has several sales outlets in Serbia and intends to expand further.

We talked to owner and director of the company, Nikos Veropoulos, about the results the company has achieved in the past 15 years and its plans for the upcoming period.

eKapija: You are celebrating the 15th anniversary of your business activities in Serbia. How satisfied are you with what you've achieved in the past period?

– I am very satisfied with our 15 years of operations here. Our arrival to Serbia following the changes in 2000 was a planned decision and we didn't come over to make a minor investment, but to invest a lot of money and stay here for a long time.

Frankly, many of our competitors in Greece made fun of us at the time. Now they are crying, and we are laughing. Of course, we would like to have more operating stores, but that's a consequence not of this market but of the Greek crisis, which has made us very cautious in our plans.

eKapija: You sold your business in Greece two years ago. How significant has that decision been for the company and to what extent has it helped you when it comes to your business in the remaining markets?

– We had been aware of the problems in Greece for a long time and we decided to expand our business outside the country while there was still time. The sale of the Greek segment of our business was not an easy move, but it was a wise one.

The result is visible in our operations in the two markets in which we are still present. Our success in Serbia and Macedonia is not a coincidence. Instead, it is a result of an additional focus and a more detailed approach. In these two countries together, we had a turnover of EUR 110 million in 17 stores in 2016. Our retail space took up a total of around 52 thousand square meters, and since we own nearly all our sales outlets, the value of all the property and the accompanying equipment exceeds EUR 100 million.

There are not many companies with such a favorable ratio of the turnover and the value of the property.

We expect around EUR 124 million in turnover this year, and we currently have 1,600 employees, 20 stores and 58 thousand square meters of retail space.

eKapija: What is Veropoulos' market position in Serbia?

– I'd say that we are neither big nor small in the two markets we currently operate in, Serbia and Macedonia.

What does set us apart, however, is that, we have “a face and a presence” in Serbia, We may not be as big as other multinational chains, but we are recognizable and determined to persevere.

Veropoulos has established two brands in Serbia. These are the Super Vero markets, of which there are six in total, as well as four Jumbo toy stores.

The constant growth of the turnover we are realizing has been slowed down a bit in Serbia in the past months due to the construction works in Belgrade, which have practically cut off our outlet in the Zira Center. However, now that they're completed, I expect everything to go back to normal quickly.

eKapija: How much has Veropoulos invested in Serbia so far and how many people do you employ?

– Today, we employ 549 people in Serbia. It's interesting to note that I'm the only foreigner in the company, unless we count three employees from Macedonia who have worked in Vero in Serbia for over 12 years now.

In these 15 years, we've invested EUR 49 million in buildings and equipment. This includes around 1.5 million invested last year and another million in 2017.

However, we don't only invest in buildings and equipment. The most important investment is the investment in good service, affordable prices and other consumer benefits. From January till October, we approved over RSD 228 million of various types of discounts.

Our aim is to provide customers with a service they can trust and to have our suppliers and partners trust us as well, to pay our obligations on time and to be an economically healthy company.

eKapija: Greece is a favorite destination of Serbian tourists and they are quite familiar with products from your country. To what extent is it an advantage for Vero to have various Greek products on offer, which our citizens cannot buy anywhere else?

– We are proud of being a Greek company, but we don't want to present ourselves that way. Instead, we are trying to run a retail business as well as possible, regardless of the country of origin.

On the other hand, our long-term experience certainly shows which products suit the taste of Serbian customers and fit with your cuisine and your culture. In any case, everything we've imported from Greece so far has proven to be popular.

eKapija: Belgrade has recently gotten the fourth Jumbo store. How satisfied are you with its performance?

– Since 2016, four Jumbo stores have opened. These stores specialize in toys, office equipment, products for children and house decoration products. It's a very exciting concept, which has realized great results so far, despite the competition.

eKapija: What are your plans for the upcoming period. Is Vero to expand beyond Belgrade as well?

– We are certainly planning to grow further, both organically and through the opening of new facilities whenever favorable opportunities arise, as well as good locations to invest in. Of course, a large part of our plans pertain to renovation of the existing outlets.

Regarding expansion, the Serbian market can be seen as two separate markets – Belgrade and the rest of Serbia.

The level of competition in Belgrade is Europe-like. It's a very difficult and competitive market and you need to be really good to get your piece of the pie.

The rest of Serbia is also very important, but the income and the habits of the customers there are nevertheless different, and one needs to be well familiar with the circumstances in order to succeed there.

eKapija: Lidl is opening its supermarkets in Belgrade in 2018. At least one of these will be located next to one of your outlets. Do you think that there's room for new players in the market?

– Lidl is another, slightly different, competitor. However, I believe that it is the competition that should be worried about us.

eKapija: How much do modern technologies and digitization impact the habits of customers and, with that, the changes in business models?

– Digitization and online purchase are really trendy today.

However, I believe that, although it sounds good and should be kept as an option, in retail, it can only lead to truly successful results in densely populated cities and markets, where the majority of people work a lot and don't have much free time.

That's characteristic of the big cities of Europe, financial centers, whereas the portion of the market that would use such a service in cities like Belgrade or Athens is still small.

eKapija: Vero is a family business. How hard has it been to maintain it through all the generational shifts?

– Our business is a result of a long family tradition in this field, which dates back to 1973. We are still focused on what we do, know what we know, do what we know and love what we do. We always strive to innovate and progress and we are never complacent.

Veropoulos has two owners. There's me and my nephew Stratis and we are the third and the fourth generation running the company.

It can happen many times in your career that you are offered a lot of money to sell your business, which puts you at a crossroads. You can then either sell the business and enjoy the money you've earned or continue as before. Each generation faces such moments of decision and it is up to them to choose their own path.

This is a difficult business that you you simply have to love, and I want to continue doing it.

Milos Vlahovic

Veropoulos d.o.o. Beograd

Nikos Veropoulos

Vero

Super Vero

Jubmo

retail chains

retail

toy store

Greek products

Greek food

office equipment store

child product store

house decoration product store

Lidl

digitization

online purchase

family business

family companies

Stratis Veropoulos