Serbian firms expanding Greek presence
Greece constitutes a window to the countries of Western Europe for retail chains from Serbia, which have recently been active in this country and indeed with rapid growth rates.
After the developments in Ukraine, which effectively shut off the large Russian market, as well as the countries around it, the expansion toward a country that loves brands and whose residents have a higher real disposable income than that of the rest of the Balkan countries and of the former Eastern European countries, are strong incentives for entering the Greek market.
On the other hand, these are chains that sell their products at competitive prices compared to others in their category, which in the context of an inflation crisis gives them an impetus to capture significant market shares.
On Wednesday, Serbian chain Lilly Drogerie, active in the category of cosmetics, nutritional supplements and baby care items, is opening its 10th store in the Avenue shopping center in Maroussi, as it is now also moving to the northern suburbs too.
The chain, of Serbian interests, which started its activity in the Greek market only in April 2021 (that is when Lilly Drogerie Monoprosopi SA was established through the Cypriot company Lilly Drogerie Ltd) has already opened stores in the center of Athens, as well as in Piraeus, Kallithea, Nea Filadelfia, Menidi and Aegaleo. The company was founded in 2003 with headquarters in Belgrade and has a leading position in its category in Serbia with over 200 pharmacies, while it is also active in Bulgaria. In total, the chain employs over 2,500 people.
Where does it rely for its success in the Greek market? On the fact that it also has branded items from multinational companies (Nestle, P&G, Colgate, Palmolive, etc.), but also from Greek companies (MEGA, Septona, Frezyderm, etc.), while it has also developed its own product lines that are available at lower prices.
There is also intense activity in the Greek market by another Serbian company, which is active in an extremely dynamic retail sector, that of sporting goods. This is Sport Vision, which entered the Greek market shortly before the pandemic, in February 2020, and is one of the leading groups in this category in the Balkan region.
