With the growth of retail sales for more than 50 months in a row and the growth of the purchasing power of citizens and consumer optimism, retailers are becoming more optimistic about doing business in Croatia. In addition to the Italian discounter Eurospin, the retail giant LC Waikiki, owned by two Turkish families Kucuk and Dizdar, will soon come to Croatia, reports Večernji List on April 13, 2019.
The first store in Croatia will be opened at the Arena Centre in Zagreb in mid-May. According to advertisements for future employees which have been appearing on Croatian websites since the beginning of this year, the chain will also open a shop in Split. This is the leading Turkish retail chain, whose largest individual shareholder is Mustafa Kucuk, worth 1.1 billion dollars. This year, the company will have more than three billion dollars in total revenues, half of which from abroad. They have decided that it is worth investing in a small market such as Croatia, where already there are rivals such as H&M, C&A, Kika, Pepco and others.
The largest clothing retail chain by the number of shops has already opened a number of stores in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. Currently, it is trading in more than 45 countries, with around 1,000 stores and the approach that “everyone deserves to dress well” and at affordable prices. In addition to Croatia, this year they plan to expand to China, India and Malaysia. In 2017, about 12 million people a week bought clothes at their stores, and each minute they sold 1,724 products.
The Waikiki brand was established in 1988 by French designer Georges Amouyal with partners called Les Copains – Friends (LC), adding the name of the famous Hawaiian Waikiki beach. In 1997, it became the Turkish brand LC Waikiki Magazacılık Hizmetleri Ticaret. It started its European expansion in Romania in 2009, and the goal is to become one of the three most successful clothing retailers in Europe by 2023.
Four years ago, the 100th shop abroad was opened in Mostar, and the company is also present in Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Morocco, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Egypt, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and since 2017 in Indonesia and Kenya.
The year before, LC Waikiki also entered the home textile category under the brand LCW HOME. With more than 1.25 million square metres, their stores in 2017 covered the area larger than 175 football stadiums.
Translated from Večernji List (reported by Jolanda Rak Šajn).
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