In recent years, Securitas Croatia, owned by the Swedish Securitas Group, has been the leader in the Croatian security market. Thanks to strong support from the parent company and a good position in Croatian regions, which has always been a problem for most competitors, the company has all the prerequisites to remain at the top. After all, this was somewhat expected since its arrival in Croatia in 2011 when it took over Zagreb’s Zvonimir Security, and the following year Slavonski Brod’s Sigurnost Buzov and Rijeka’s Protect, before acquiring Tehnomobil in 2013. Six years later, a single company was formed after the Swedes bought the remaining smaller shares from the old co-owners.
Securitas Croatia, despite its stability, shares the biggest problem with its competitors – a chronic shortage of employees and their high turnover, which it is currently managing successfully. However, in the future, says CEO Ivan Funčić (son of former Protect co-owner Damir Funčić), the state will have to relax the conditions for employing foreigners from outside the EU, who now need to have citizenship and know the Croatian language… The reason for the worker shortage is the lower-paid job of security guards, so the only solution is to increase service prices, which is also considered by the Croatian Chamber of Security Guards, of which Funčić is the vice president for physical protection. However, it is never easy to explain this to clients, although they have been understanding in recent crisis years due to inflation. Namely, security companies operate with a small margin (four percent) and do not have the ability to finance wage increases from it. In this sense, interestingly, the state has greatly facilitated security companies in raising service prices by increasing the minimum wage.
Openness to Acquisitions
– Such government measures suit us, and we also have a clause in many contracts that we will increase the service price if the state imposes a minimum wage increase – emphasizes Funčić.
The shortage of workers can be compensated by offering a combined service of technical and physical protection, which is a trend in the industry, and this model brings Securitas about twenty percent of its revenue. The goal is, of course, a larger share, which would reduce the need for workers through technical solutions, and in this regard, Securitas is open to acquiring a company that deals with technical security in the future. However, as Damir Dobrina, a board member responsible for technical protection, tells us, they are not currently negotiating with any company.
Besides Funčić and Dobrina, the third board member is Hrvoje Novosel, responsible for finance, who joined the company after the acquisition of Tehnomobil. In a long and quite pleasant conversation with the company’s leaders, we were able to create an image of decent, yet relaxed, humorous young men well-versed in their sectors. However, it is worth mentioning Ivan Ročić, the company’s leader until last year (who is also praised by competitors as a professional), who stepped down for personal reasons, passing the position to Funčić (who was previously the director of the Coastal Region). Ročić is now the director of Sales and Aviation, responsible for airport security operations. Other important people in the company include the directors of the Continental Region Saša Vasilić and the Coastal Region Marko Bosnić, as well as Mirela Bartolić, the head of Marketing and Communications, a role that is not common in security companies, and who also takes great care of the image of the board members (we confirmed this) and the company.
; 
