Ivan Zubak, Zubak Grupa: I do not see the near future without car dealerships

Zubak Grupa began its digital transformation in a timely manner, explains its CEO Ivan Zubak and describes how they recognized in time the direction in which key activities will develop. He also talked about the new trend of online vehicle purchasing as well as how the Group contributes to achieving zero emissions and green agendas.

How is Zubak Grupa investing in digital transformation and changing its business models?

– By launching the digital platform for buying, selling, and servicing vehicles Neostar, we have joined the global trend of developing similar platforms, and we all learn from each other because these are new and still insufficiently tested business models. In such circumstances, mistakes happen; they are an integral part of the business plan, and we learn from them and improve the system based on them. However, we have advantages over the competition, and we hope that the market will recognize this. This also applies to ORYX Assistance, where we are currently developing a completely new business model, compatible with the existing one, through the joint efforts of our own IT development teams and external partners, which will allow us faster and more efficient further expansion with a much better customer experience. We view digital transformation as an opportunity to find completely new sources of revenue, not just as a mere transfer of analog processes to digital. This is much more challenging, but it also carries potentially much greater rewards. By the end of the year, if we look only at the period from 2020 to 2022, investments in digital transformation will exceed 40 million kuna. Someone might say that this is a lot, but if we compare it to traditional investments in brick & mortar business models, we get a different perspective. But this is a mental barrier that needs to be crossed. Spending 40 million kuna on a business building or equipment is somehow easier because what you invested in is something tangible. Spending the same amount on software development is a much harder decision for us who come from more traditional industries. But I believe we have successfully crossed that boundary because we are aware of the potential that the digital economy carries.

Since you mentioned it, how satisfied are you with Neostar?

– Neostar is something new and very exciting for us. None of us have experience in developing and managing a digital platform. It is a world of its own. So far, it is developing according to the planned outlines, and we are preparing to step outside Croatian borders, which is why we created it in the first place. User experiences are excellent, but we are still learning every day and refining the system through planned experiments to elevate the process of purchasing or maintaining a used vehicle to an even higher level. Vehicles have been sold online for a long time, and by that, I mean that people do their research related to the vehicle they are looking for or want, and they get most of the information they need online first, and then they complete the purchasing process offline. Neostar is precisely the right comprehensive, omnichannel solution that allows customers to find a vehicle online and complete the process entirely online or offline. All combinations are possible on Neostar. Therefore, yes, digital is certainly the way of selling and buying in the future, but with strong support on the ground. Car dealerships will exist for a long time. I do not see the near future without dealerships.

With ORYX Assistance, you already cover eight countries. What’s next?

– Over the past twelve years, we have strongly focused on developing our offerings, and in the last six, on stronger internationalization. Now we are consolidating our business so that we try to saturate the markets where we are already present with existing products. A new wave of internationalization and expansion of the offering with new services will occur with the digital transformation, which we are working on diligently, as I mentioned before, and which will allow us to expand much more efficiently than before and with a much higher level of customer experience. The project will first encompass all our contractual partners, and in the second phase, we will present a very advanced application solution for end users.

Is Zubak Grupa working on a green agenda and how is it doing so?

– Today, it is impossible to avoid this topic, and it is good for all of us that it is so. We are currently working on several projects, but I would highlight the project of investing in solar panels at Zubak Grupa locations; we currently estimate it at approximately 7.5 million kuna. So far, we have invested more than two million kuna in electric vehicle chargers at our locations and are constantly devising new actions aimed at facilitating the acquisition of electric and hybrid vehicles for people. We currently utilize about thirty electric and hybrid vehicles in our own fleet and plan to further increase their share over time.

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