We have always endeavored to diversify our business into as many categories as possible, in order for the stability of the company to be beyond question, regardless of what happens on the market,” says CEO Prokopije Perić, noting that his company makes increasingly ambitious plans from year to year.
According to EBRD forecasts, Montenegro is expected to experience GDP growth of 3.7% in 2024. Are your business plans equally optimistic and ambitious?
― As a company that’s known as one of the leaders in the importing of consumer goods that are essential for every household, we make increasingly ambitious and ever bigger plans year on year. Just as our Montenegro – as a country that relies on tourism – must diversify its offer, increase the quality of services and offer more services beyond the coastal region and the traditional four-month season if it wants to be able to count on growth, so every company, including ours, must expand its portfolio and work on the quality and quantity of its services if it wants to achieve growth.
Our brands have a combined market participation exceeding 45% and PLUS is a company that contributed more than 40 million euros to Montenegro’s 2022 budget through excise duties on tobacco products, while that amount exceeded 43 million euros in 2023. Our stability is additionally strengthened by products from the categories of cosmetics, hair care and body care, as well as numerous brands from the hygiene and food and drinks categories, and in 2024 we are awaited by an extremely large project with our partner JTI, which we will also announce to the market soon.
Do you think economic integration would bring prosperity to the entire Western Balkan region?
― I believe sincerely that regional economic integration is hugely significant when it comes to building prosperous economies that will encourage mutual trade, competitiveness and investment. Integration would help the region in numerous ways, including by bolstering economic growth, attracting investment and improving education and employment opportunities. That topic, as well as the issue of expanding beyond Montenegro’s borders, is ever-present in our company, though we are very cautious when considering entering other markets.
We invest a lot in digitalisation and various software solutions that enable faster and more efficient operations, but we invest even more in our people
The results that we’ve achieved on the Montenegrin market with our Una Slims brand are truly impressive, which is why our regional expansion should be expected. We currently have agreements with partners in Serbia and Albania to launch sales on those markets, and that’s what we’re focused on at present.
Do you also see digitalisation and e-commerce as great opportunities to advance your business, improve your market coverage, increase the availability of products etc.?
― As one of the leaders in our category, we endeavour to always be a step ahead when it comes to innovation. On the flip side, although we think long-term, we are focused primarily on the present moment in which we live and operate in such a way that we can get as much out of the market as possible. We invest a lot in digitalisation and various software solutions that enable faster and more efficient operations, but we invest even more in our people, because employees make the biggest difference for us compared to our competitors. It is actually thanks to them, on the basis of their attitude towards their job and the company, that we develop plans to advance the business, improve our market coverage and increase the availability of products.
