Good business opportunities are not to be missed. But is Black Friday in Croatia a good opportunity? In the last few years, retailers in Croatia have tried to recreate the consumer fever from the United States, advertising fantastic sales which allegedly await those who decide to spend their money on the day after the US Thanksgiving, reports Večernji List on November 23, 2018.
A short visit to favorite stores clearly shows that the advertising about crazy discounts of up to 90% applies only to certain items, while most discounts are more in the range of between 30 and 50%. But it seems that this is enough for retailers to see tens of millions of kuna in increased turnover, much higher than in an “ordinary” November day.
According to information from the Tax Administration, last month’s Black Friday in Croatia brought in 6.9 million receipts in the total amount of 573.1 million kuna. In 2016, there were 6.6 million receipts for 460.6 million kuna, and in 2015, 6.4 million receipts for 433.9 million kuna.
The purchasing power recovery has been followed by the growth in retail sales which has been evident for some 60 months in a row. Compared to 2014 when 6.6 million receipts were issued in the total amount of 440.7 million kuna, it is apparent that spending on Black Friday has increased by more than 130 million kuna.
This is also confirmed by Tomislava Ravlić, the deputy director of the Commerce Sector of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), who pointed out that retailers have about 8 billion kuna in average monthly turnover, which is about 250 million kuna a day, while on Black Friday in Croatia it doubles to about 500 million kuna. “This is a relatively new ‘holiday’ for us and there are still no significant discounts offered,” Ravlić said.
Nevertheless, in the last two years retailers have progressed from symbolic discounts to a discount of up to 50 percent. But it seems that consumers will have to wait for a long time to be able to buy a TV for about a hundred kuna as they can do in the United States, so there is no need to wake up early in the morning to wait in long lines and fight over merchandise.
In Croatia, Black Friday is an example of standard traditional days for discount shopping, such as holiday season or special days – Valentine’s Day, Women’s Day and so on, said Drago Munjiza, a consultant and board member of Lonija.
“In the United States, Black Friday is a traditional model for stock clearance before the Christmas season, while in Croatia the concept is closer to a stronger weekend sale, so the ultimate goal is not to sell all stock, but just to create another day or weekend with higher turnover before the holiday discounts and the December consumer madness,” he explained.
The turnover will indeed be higher over this weekend, especially if we take into account internet sales in online shops Croatian consumers use.
For more on shopping in Croatia, click here.
Translated from Večernji List (reported by Jolanda Rak Šajn and Romana Kočević Barišić).
