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Vjekoslav Gucić should be satisfied. Poslovni Dnevnik was informed by reliable sources that he received 12 offers for the purchase of Getro.

Even though Getro has been experiencing a decrease in revenue since 2005 and has made large investments into devastated facilities, eight investment funds and four big retail chains have shown interest- Konzum (Ivica Todorić), Kaufland, Mercator and Metro. The due date for sending offers is 20 April, so there is still time for additional offers. Although the Croatian market is very limited by the size of the population and the populace’s purchasing power, it seems that in the last ten years it has become a country of interest for the large international retail companies. Kaufland arrived on the market after Mercator and Metro and in February opened its 23rd facility. It is searching through the internet for land parcels or finished facilities larger than 2,000 m2 in cities with a population of 10-20 thousand people. Mercator finally realized profits in its seventh year on the market (4 million kunas), but that did not stop it from investments and takeovers. Metro ended their investment expansion in 2006. Six facilities were not enough to compete on the market and so decided to expand through acquisitions. Getro reached its profit peak in 2004 at 2.09 billion kunas, subsequently declining. In 2007, their profit was 1.93 billion and 1.76 billion in 2008. In June 2008, he employed 1681 workers, while laying off 200 during the recent downsizing of the company. Getro has 17 stores, covering an area of 80,000 m2 in 14 cities, with an additional distribution center covering an area of 13,700 m2.
(AmCham)