Convenience Shops in 90 locations in Serbia prior to end of 2010 – Štampa Sistem spreads new retail concept in Serbian market

Max Winterfeldt

- Štampa Sistem will open the 41st store within Just a Moment market chain in Prizrenska Street in Belgrade in early February, and it plans to open another 49 new such facilities in Serbia by the end of 2010. The aim of the company, owned by German WAZ, is to open total of 250 stores intended for “quick and simple shopping” within next three years - Max Winterfeldt, the CEO of Štampa Sistem, announced and pointed out that WAZ would invest 6m EUR in that company within next two years.

- We plan to open three to five stores every month. About one third of the stores are in our possession, while the rest of the outlets are rented. We plan to employ 100 new workers in 2010 – said Winterfeldt on the occasion of today’s (January 26, 2010) presentation of new Convenience Shops concept.

He said that Štampa Sistem’s aim was to be the leader in that “retail format” and pointed out that Just a Moment would adapt the offer to the microlocation needs of customers.

- We will be opening so-called "tailor made" stores, that is, their assortment will depend on the habits of our consumers. Therefore, we will have different articles in the offer in TC Ušće and, for example, in Mirijevo.

Dušica Radukić, the Marketing Manager in Štampa Sistem, told eKapija that the next three facilities would be opened in Belgrade.

- We will open a Just a Moment store in Prizrenska Street in February, and then an outlet in Balkanska Street and another one in Belgrade’s center.

Radukić said that 20 of all the stores opened by the company to the date were situated in Belgrade, while the rest were in Vojvodina and other cities in Serbia.

- We are present in Niš, Subotica, Zrenjanin, Kikinda, Kula, Paraćin, Ćićevac, Jagodina, Leskovac. Selection of the cities in the following period will depend on the microlocation needs of the consumers, and we should also have in mind that the consumers in our country still don’t have developed habits when it comes to this form of retail trade – said Radukić.

She added that, in accordance with the situation in the market, the company would be, most probably, renting outlets, while only few facilities from Štampa’s system had been transformed into Just a Moment shops because most of the shops were not suitable for the new concept. The surface of Just a Moment outlets ranges between 15 and 70 square meters.

Convenience Shops

Max Winterfeldt

The assortment of Convenience Shops includes about 1,600 articles – newspapers, cigarettes, confectioneries, alcohol and soft drinks, personal hygiene products, electronic top-ups, "Halo" phone cards, lottery tickets, CDs and DVDs.

- Just a Moment stores are situated in high-frequency locations. Their main characteristics are modern ambient, kind staff and clear visibility of items – said Max Winterfeldt, pointing out that Just a Moment served 2m customers in 2009.

Dušica Radukić said that the company was the most satisfied with the results achieved by the shop at Belgrade’s railway station.

- That shop occupies the surface of 70 square meters and has the biggest assortment of articles. Also, the store within GTZ center registered the sales growth of 400% in the last quarter of year 2009.

Just a Moment for Infostan bills

Max Winterfeldt

Radukić also announced launching of new services in Just a Moment shops, including the sale of tickets for various events, payment of Infostan bills, use of ATM and Internet, etc. Customers in “convenience” shops will be also allowed various discounts for payment by credit cards, the possibility of participation in lottery games, etc.

- We have already signed the letter of intent with Infostan, and we will make our consumers happy by offering them various possibilities of interactive system that will be put in operation in June 2010 – Radukić announced.

The CEO of Štampa Sistem said that that company had invested over 2m EUR in new information technologies to the date.

- We offer quality products, competitive prices and service adapted to the modern way of life to the customers in Serbia – said Winterfeldt.

He pointed out that Just a Moment market chain in Serbia operated thanks to junction of the tradition of domestic company Štampa Sistem and innovative approach brought by German WAZ Media Group. WAZ developed the new format of retail trade, Just a Moment, only in Serbia, and the first shop in that chain was opened in December 2008.

Štampa Sistem has 640 facilities in Serbia and about 2,000 employees. The customers are served through two retail networks – newsstands and Just a Moment market chain. The company’s turnover in 2009 amounted to 120m EUR.

WAZ, with the headquarters in Essen, is one of the biggest media groups in Europe. Except in Germany, the company is also present in the markets of Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Russia. Štampa Sistem became the 100% property of WAZ in July 2008.