When young entrepreneurs, colleagues from the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb and good friends Alen Henich, Miroslav Marković, and Tomislav Rasonja founded the company in November 2011, they had no idea that in the next two years, a small student project of making hooded sweatshirts, popularly known as ‘hoodies’, for the Faculty of Economics in Zagreb would turn into a real business.
So far, their website Modnakatedra.com offers products for six faculties (Zagreb’s FER, FKIT, Economics, and Pharmaceutical-Biochemical, as well as the Rijeka Faculty of Civil Engineering and Maritime Studies), and recently the University of Zagreb received its own hoodie.
The three colleagues soon received reinforcements. Namely, the value of the project and the excellent working atmosphere were recognized by students from other faculties, and Luka Burnać (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing), Stela Kovačić (Graphic Faculty), and Ana Lakić (Faculty of Economics in Zagreb) quickly joined the team.
– Since our establishment, we have believed in the values and principles that are the foundation of our past and future success. These are, above all, a satisfied customer, top-notch customer support, a quality product, originality of the idea, and excellence in execution. The product has been well received from the start; students want to have a ‘hoodie’ from their faculty – Alen Henich told us.
The Shirt that Connects The project was not easy to implement, especially since they had to establish their own company to ensure everything was done legally. Due to incredibly complex bureaucracy and paperwork, it took them a year to realize their intention, but they did not give up; instead, they successfully established Selecta Promotions, the company behind the project. After launching the hoodie for the Zagreb Faculty of Economics, they sought other faculties that would like to have their own hoodie.
– Initially, it was difficult to find faculties that wanted to participate because they believed there was no interest among students or that their students would create something similar. Everything started to improve when the project was recognized at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing. They accepted it there and even secured a sales point in KSET, which helped us and opened doors to other faculties – explained Miroslav Marković.
Now they are negotiating with most faculties of the University of Zagreb, but faculties from other cities and private schools are also reaching out to them. Some would like to gift the hoodie to their students upon enrollment, while others want to have an official faculty hoodie.
– Our goal is for hoodies to be purchased not only by current students but also by exchange students, professors, and alumni. In the USA and European countries, alumni are very connected to their faculties. We want this to be one of the steps to reconnect with the alma mater – emphasized Luka Burnać, adding that FER, where he studies, is very connected with its former students.
Expanding the Offer This year, they have already sold two thousand hoodies and hope that number could double by the end of the year when the season for wearing such sweatshirts arrives, as well as the enrollment of new students at faculties. Plans for further development relate to expanding the offer.
– First, we would like to cover all faculties within the University of Zagreb. We hope that our annual sales will then exceed ten thousand, as this would reduce the product and price. Currently, we are still producing small batches, which is why hoodies cost between 200 and 250 kuna – said Tomislav Rasonja.
They are particularly proud that the University of Zagreb has recognized their efforts. The crown of the project, with the support of the University, for Miroslav Marković, Alen Henich, and Luka Burnać is the hoodie that all students will proudly wear, the official hoodie of the University of Zagreb. After joining the European Union, students can participate in various mobility programs, so many foreign students will take the opportunity to study in our country and wear the hoodie with the University of Zagreb logo.
The ‘Hoodie’ is a light gray sweatshirt that features the prominent logo of the University of Zagreb on the front, the inscription ‘University of Zagreb’ in English, and the year of the University’s founding. On the left rear side, there is a label with the official logo of the University of Zagreb.
– In addition to collaborating on the hoodie, we proposed opening a ‘fan shop’ for the University of Zagreb. A business plan has been made, and they immediately liked the idea; now we need to implement it. It is primarily a store that would offer hoodies, but we plan to expand to other faculty souvenirs. The market that would accept such items is indeed large. For now, we are reinvesting all profits. If the project takes off, we plan to return part of it to the faculties for their development and scholarships – Henich is ambitious in announcing the expansion.
