It is a shame that any good news about Greece and/or Greek ventures one tends to only find by accident and not through a process. The latest 'accident' was that I came across this article describing how a Greek yoghurt firm rose from the ashes after a huge fire.
The company's name is Kri Kri and I looked up its website. One doesn't need to browse for very long to recognize that this company is a bit of a jewel. And not a small jewel at that: sales over 70 MEUR; significant international operations.
This company is not successful because because Greece is such a good or bad place to do business. It is not successful because Greece has a world-wide competitive advantage in the area of yoghurts. Instead, this company is successful - like most other companies which are successful - because it has entrepreneurial owners who recognize and pursue business opportunities with a can-do approach.
They started, 60 years ago, with a small pastry shop in the Northern city of Serres. Now, how many small pastry shops are there in Greece? Perhaps all of them could have had the same opportunities as Kri Kri. Let me just quote the following from the company's website:
"For our development to continue, we know that we must look ahead, identify the new trends and new potentials that are emerging on a daily basis. We know that we must be prepared for whatever is to follow, so we can tackle it effectively. We know that in preparing for the future, we must keep experience in mind, as 'Yesterday's successes are our guide for tomorrow'."
And another innovative venture of the company: "A recognized and fully equipped nursery for the children of employees operates in our corporate facilities, since 2005. Today, more than 100 'Little Stars of Kri Kri' have graduated."
I think the company's website speaks for itself. And yes, the company also seems to be very profitable, at least until 2004 which is the last year for which they publish figures on the website.
If the new party leader of ND, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, wants to differentiate himself from Alexis Tsipras, he should make a point of visiting at least one such 'hidden star' of the Greek economy every week and to talk about his visits afterwards. As the Greek economy strives to recover, voters should have clear alternatives between anti-business and pro-business forces. The anti-business force of Greece has now been most visible for about one year. The pro-business forces have yet to appear on the scene.
The company's name is Kri Kri and I looked up its website. One doesn't need to browse for very long to recognize that this company is a bit of a jewel. And not a small jewel at that: sales over 70 MEUR; significant international operations.
This company is not successful because because Greece is such a good or bad place to do business. It is not successful because Greece has a world-wide competitive advantage in the area of yoghurts. Instead, this company is successful - like most other companies which are successful - because it has entrepreneurial owners who recognize and pursue business opportunities with a can-do approach.
They started, 60 years ago, with a small pastry shop in the Northern city of Serres. Now, how many small pastry shops are there in Greece? Perhaps all of them could have had the same opportunities as Kri Kri. Let me just quote the following from the company's website:
"For our development to continue, we know that we must look ahead, identify the new trends and new potentials that are emerging on a daily basis. We know that we must be prepared for whatever is to follow, so we can tackle it effectively. We know that in preparing for the future, we must keep experience in mind, as 'Yesterday's successes are our guide for tomorrow'."
And another innovative venture of the company: "A recognized and fully equipped nursery for the children of employees operates in our corporate facilities, since 2005. Today, more than 100 'Little Stars of Kri Kri' have graduated."
I think the company's website speaks for itself. And yes, the company also seems to be very profitable, at least until 2004 which is the last year for which they publish figures on the website.
If the new party leader of ND, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, wants to differentiate himself from Alexis Tsipras, he should make a point of visiting at least one such 'hidden star' of the Greek economy every week and to talk about his visits afterwards. As the Greek economy strives to recover, voters should have clear alternatives between anti-business and pro-business forces. The anti-business force of Greece has now been most visible for about one year. The pro-business forces have yet to appear on the scene.
Good products, polished marketing, owing to 30 years of owner (Tsinavos) hard work & perseverance. The factory fire a few years back (dairy factory burned to the ground, lack of adequate fire protection...) was a major setback but stood back on feet (shifted yoghurt production to competitor for almost a year). Large part of their business is white label for _foreign_ food retailers. In other words, a normal, kinda play-by-the-book business for the rest of the world, so out of place in modern Greece...
ReplyDeleteFinancial statements are found on the website up to and including 2014.
ReplyDeleteSee press release with summary for 2014
http://www.krikri.gr/dyn/em_news/pdf/dt_300315en300315184237_en.pdf
See financial statements (balance, results, cash flow) for 2014
http://www.krikri.gr/dyn/em_katast/pdf/isol1214en300315181629_en.pdf
there are many good and healthy companies in greece as i have stated many times in the past. many trying to survive many trying to expand even under this harsh condition.
ReplyDeleteI have my hope that mitsotakis will be a pro business leader.
Sincerely,
V
You might find some of the following links interesting.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.corallia.org/en/
http://www.apivita.com/hellas/
http://www.korres.com/
http://www.ion.gr/en/
http://corp.upstreamsystems.com/
https://www.workable.com/about
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aventurine_SA
Wow! Thank you very much! I will look into these sites in more detail but I have quickly browsed through all of them and am most impressed. Now, the billion Euro question is: why doesn't anyone ever talk about these kinds of venture which take place in Greece???
DeleteI like this company.These girls are impressive.
Deletehttp://www.fereikos-helix.gr/new/index.php?lang=en