In the afternoon part of Lider’s 7th Export Conference, which featured the most successful Croatian exporters, a round table was held on the topic of how Croatian exporters coped during the coronavirus crisis and how they navigated the period in which they had to operate under restrictive measures, and what actions they took.
The panel’s title was ‘What Hit Us, and How Did We Cope?’, and the discussion included leading figures from Spider Group, Radin Print, and Kotka – Denis Nemčević, Sanja Pušec, and Kruno Cerovečki, as well as Toni Tenjer from Odašiljači i veze.
Sanja Pušec, director of Radin Print, stated that the biggest problem brought by the coronavirus crisis was the drop in orders as their production is mainly based on printing catalogs and magazines.
– Even fifty percent of orders were canceled, but at the same time, we had to procure raw materials for customers who continued printing their publications. Among all the measures we utilized, the most significant was the assistance from HBOR, specifically liquidity insurance loans – said Pušec, adding that although it seemed at that moment that it was the end, today Radin Print has successfully recovered.
Spider Group recorded an increase in orders during the coronavirus crisis, as many customers increased their tea orders precisely because of the pandemic.
– Thanks to the industry we are in, which is the food industry, we did not feel the negative impact of the pandemic; on the contrary, the consumption of tea and medicinal herbs increased, especially in March and April. Regarding transportation, there were no issues as trucks smoothly traveled to Italy and other export markets, and we can attribute our good sales results to our long-term and stable relationships with business partners – said Denis Nemčević, CEO of Spider Group, adding that the only real concern was that the coronavirus would not infiltrate among employees.
Therefore, they completely separated work shifts, canceled the arrival and departure of business partners, and adhered to all epidemiologist recommendations. However, they had a prepared scenario for all situations, even though no one got infected.
– We did not use state aid; on the contrary, we hired more staff, and for us, the coronavirus was a positive experience. Therefore, we have no liquidity problems; we had enough goods, and our customers ordered even more due to fears that borders might close – described Nemčević’s experience of Spider Group during the coronavirus crisis.
At Odašiljači i veze, following the outbreak of the crisis, a decision was made overnight that 70 percent of employees would work from home, which proved to be an excellent experience.
– We could not afford any business interruptions; a crisis headquarters was organized that monitored the situation daily, and we defined which sectors were critical. We provided discounts of 20 to 30 percent on monthly fees and deferred payments without fees to television publishers whose economic activity was disrupted – said Toni Tenjer from Odašiljači i veze.
A member of the management board of our renowned manufacturer and exporter of men’s suits, Kotka, Kruno Cerovečki, stated that the textile industry was particularly affected by the coronavirus crisis, as stores were closed, wholesalers canceled orders, and requested significant payment delays, which were problems they had to deal with.
– Over the past few years, we have invested quite a bit in technology; we did not have liquidity problems as we managed to retain profits and could withstand 40 days without any assistance. We had a good relationship with long-term partners that we managed to retain and returned payment terms from 60 days to the usual thirty – said Cerovečki, adding that the next twelve months would be difficult not only for the textile industry but also for many other manufacturing sectors.
Regarding the relationships between producers and customers and suppliers, it seems that the coronavirus crisis brought them closer together, as everyone found themselves in it, making mutual understanding crucial for continuing business. No company participating in Lider’s panel is considering layoffs because, as was heard, it is not easy to find quality and qualified workers, so preserving jobs will be one of the business priorities in the upcoming period.
{embed_digitalno_izdanje}{/embed_digitalno_izdanje}
