Greece is a means of entry to Western European countries for retail chains from Serbia, which have recently been actively operating in our country and indeed with rapid growth. And after the events in Ukraine, which actually “closed” the large Russian market, as well as the countries around it, expansion towards a country that loves brands and its residents have a higher real disposable income than the rest of the Balkan countries and the former Eastern European countries, are strong incentives to enter the Greek market. On the other hand, these are networks that sell their products at competitive prices compared to others in their category, which, in the context of an inflationary crisis, gives them an impetus to capture significant market shares.

Serbian network tomorrow Lilly Drogry, which operates in the cosmetics, nutritional supplements, and baby care categories, is opening its 10th store at Avenue Mall in the Amarusi area, now also expanding into the northern suburbs. The network of Serbian interests, which only started operating in the Greek market in April 2021 (that is, when Lilly Drogerie Monoprosopi SA was created through the Cypriot company Lilly Drogerie Ltd), has already opened stores in the center of Athens, Piraeus, Kallithea. , Nea Philadelphia, Menidi and Egaleo. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Belgrade and is a category leader in Serbia with over 200 pharmacies and also operates in Bulgaria. In total, the network employs more than 2500 people.

What is she betting on for her success in the Greek market? In that it also has branded products from multinational companies (Nestle, P&G, Colgate, Palmolive, etc.), as well as from Greek companies (MEGA, Septona, Frezyderm, etc.), and also developed its own product lines that are available at lower prices.

Intensive activity in the Greek market is being developed by another Serbian company, which also operates in the extremely dynamic retail sector, the sporting goods sector. Cause Sports vision, which entered the Greek market shortly before the start of the pandemic, at the beginning of February 2020, and is one of the leading groups in this category in the Balkan region, operating in 13 countries (Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia). , Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Greece). During 2021, the company opened three stores in the prefecture of Attica, namely in Agia Paraskevi, Chalandri and Piraeus, and launched an online store. During 2022, four new stores were added in Patras, Thessaloniki and two in Glyfada. Today, the Serbian chain has opened a total of 13 stores with the Sport Vision and Buzz brands, and operates two related online stores. In 2020, it had zero turnover, and in 2021, when its stores actually started working, but with known restrictions due to COVID-19, its turnover amounted to half a million euros. Of course, the targets for the Greek market are much bigger.