There are not many companies in Croatia that can boast that they have never operated at a loss in their existence. An unknown ‘phenomenon’ for most, is the most normal thing in the world for Iverpan from Gorčica near Sv. Ivan Zelina in Zagreb County. In thirty years of operation, the company that sells goods and materials for custom furniture production and manufactures parts for its assembly has never faltered or encountered such difficulties.
Even in the conditions of the pandemic crisis, it successfully faced challenges, and this year it continued its rapid growth from the second half of last year. Last year, its revenues increased by seven percent, reaching 121.47 million kuna, and profits surged by 159 percent, reaching four million kuna.
Plan for the Crisis
Iverpan has significantly grown over the past five years, and this March was the strongest month in terms of revenue since the company started in 1991, said founder and owner Vladimir Findri, which continued in April and even in May. Sales are going more than well, so well that Findri is somewhat worried that it is too good.
– However, there are significant problems in procurement. The strong growth in interior furnishing has affected all of Europe. Our suppliers are experiencing unprecedented demand, stretched production capacities, dwindling raw material stocks, and rising prices, which, of course, they pass on to us. Additionally, delivery times have extended to several months, transport prices are skyrocketing, so we are currently quite busy planning in that part of the business. We have rented additional warehouses, looking, so to speak, into a crystal ball when we now order goods that will be produced at the beginning of September. We are trying to protect and ensure our customers do not suffer delays that we are adjusting to week by week. At the dawn of the pandemic crisis, management initiated crisis management. We defined three key strategic guidelines for 2020 and presented them to employees, who were the first foundation of that strategy. Our goal was to protect jobs, retain all employees and their earnings at the contracted level. The second was to remain a true partner to customers and not change the way of doing business regardless of the liquidity problems at the time, and the third was to keep the plants open, machines running, and product quality at a high level – stated Iverpan’s director Mladen Jambrović.
Uncertainty with Prices
To achieve this, due to closed stores, they shifted sales online, which is otherwise difficult to implement in their industry since customers need to see and touch the materials. They devised contactless delivery and material pickup models and adapted daily to sometimes confusing decisions from various headquarters, Jambrović said. He notes that, for example, they read about some measures in the media, and nowhere could they obtain or find a decision that precisely states how to behave regarding movement bans, permits, or the number of people in stores.
– It was not easy to organize business under such conditions in various places in Croatia where we operate amidst countless different pieces of information. Now we hope that real estate prices will not go wild as they did a few years ago when demand suddenly disappeared, partly because prices were also inflated. Many properties that began construction remained unsold (an attempt was made to artificially maintain the price), which triggered a negative wave in the construction industry, on which we rely. Now construction is also running at full speed, much is being built and sold, and prices are rising due to demand. We have developed several scenarios and are refining them depending on what is happening in the market. We try to notice signs of changes, whether better or worse, as soon as possible. We also monitor everything happening in the interior design materials market and strive to immediately introduce them to the Croatian market. We follow trends in material processing, procure new machines, and gradually move towards automation and Industry 4.0. – Jambrović listed.
Scented Laminate
Iverpan originated as a family business, and owner Vladimir Findri initially imported particle boards for local carpenters. Then he became a specialist in furniture fittings, and the decision prevailed to become a wood center that rounds out the offer for custom production in both fittings and panel materials, as well as cutting and edge banding services.
