BOBINAC: Panasonic’s acquisition of Gorenje would benefit Serbia too

We have transferred our production from Sweden to Slovenia, and from Slovenia to Serbia, which will benefit employment in your country, says President and CEO of Gorenje Group Franjo Bobinac and adds that “closing a factory and opening a new one is not an everyday or easy process, as logistics, materials, people and possibilities all need to be considered”.

– As far as the business climate goes, I am extremely satisfied that we are producing in Serbia. It wasn’t easy having to decide whether and where to expand outside of Slovenia, whether it would be Russia, Ukraine, or some other Western Balkans countries. And then we settled on Serbia, not by chance, but through analysis. I’ve been asked why Valjevo, why Zajecar, why Stara Pazova, and the reasons are entirely different, but we felt good wherever we went, including those cities – he explains.

Bobinac adds that “once Gorenje sets foot somewhere, it stays there. After doing business in your country, I say to everyone, including people in Slovenia, that Serbia has a good foreign investment policy”.

When it comes to negotiations with Panasonic on the acquisition of the majority share, Bobinac says that the company wishes to increase its ownership share in the Slovenian company.

– We have worked with Panasonic for around three years and doubled the trade with them, and this is a partner which came and said they wanted to grow in Europe together with Gorenje. The company doesn’t produce large household appliances in our continent on its own, and it also lacks strong sales teams in certain countries – he says.

Bobinac claims that the opportunity to be acquired by Panasonic “would be good for Gorenje, its growth, its brand and increased development and production”.

– I’m sure that this partnership would be just as good for Serbia and its production as it is for Slovenia, since it’s clear that, if we are joining forces, we are doing so in order to grow even more and even faster. A quicker growth, as everyone knows, leads to increased production and more jobs, new employments. This is the general direction, larger sales and production in Serbia as well. By how much, it’s hard to tell for the time being – Bobinac adds.

Gorenje d.d. Velenje

Panasonic Corporation

Gorenje Group

Panasonic

Franjo Bobinac

house aplliances production in Serbia