Renato Radić takes over the Austrian ADA, a faltering furniture manufacturer

Renato Radić, co-owner and CEO of Prima Group, is in the process of acquiring Austrian company ADA Möbelwerke Holding AG, a traditional furniture manufacturer from Anger in Styria – announced several Austrian media outlets. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed.

In addition to its facility in Styria, the Austrian company has three production sites in Hungary and one in Romania, but has found itself in significant financial difficulties that led it into insolvency proceedings six months ago. Recognized creditor claims amount to approximately €18.3 million, and with Radić’s acquisition of ADA, the process is concluded, effectively saving the Croatian entrepreneur from bankruptcy.

ADA will not enter the Prima Group

Unofficially, we learn that the acquirer of the Austrian company is not Radić’s Prima Group, but Radić personally as an individual. Although the news of this acquisition has been confirmed, neither Radić nor the Prima Group wish to comment on the details for now. However, according to Austrian media reports, Radić has committed to paying 20 percent of the claims to the company’s creditors and announced that he is considering restarting production in Austria, where only about ten employees remain after insolvency.

ADA will remain a separate Austrian company, headquartered in Styria, with its own brand, management, and sales, meaning it will not become part of the Prima Group, which, with more than 60 showrooms in three countries (Croatia, Slovenia, and North Macedonia) and nine furniture factories in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, is the largest business system for furniture production and sales in the region.

Prima Group is the only one among the large retail chains in Croatia that sells exclusively furniture produced in its own factories, among which the newest and most modern was opened this spring in Severin near Bjelovar. The investment in the construction of this panel furniture factory amounted to €20 million.

Prima commerce, the retail part and the largest company within Prima Group, exceeded €100 million in revenue for the first time last year, making it the fifth largest furniture retailer in Croatia. This company was founded in Bjelovar more than 30 years ago by Renato and Ante Radić and is still equally owned by them, as well as several other companies among the ten that make up the Prima Group. However, Renato Radić is the sole owner of the company Prima namještaj, which owns the production facilities.

Engagement of the best experts

In the last fifteen years, Prima Group has invested a lot of effort and money to sell furniture designed by its designers and produced in its factories in its showrooms. A significant amount of money has also been invested in hiring the best and most renowned experts for specific jobs. In recent years, Prima has been renovating its furniture showrooms according to an innovative and unique concept in Croatia called ‘100% yours’, designed for it by the design agency Brigada.

The idea is that every customer who comes to the showroom feels as if everything can be ‘theirs’, rather than being in some large furniture warehouse. Just as the award-winning Brigada was engaged for the new interior concept of Prima’s showrooms, the agency Bruketa&Žinić&Grey was hired a few years ago for the new visual identity. The task was to maintain recognizability while also showcasing the innovation of all the changes that Prima has undergone since its inception.