After opening company in USA, Trikotaza Ivkovic announces EUR 2.2 million investment in new factory and exports to China

(Photo: ivko.com)

Last year they saw a 30 percent growth in business, opened a company in the USA, started exporting products to Great Britain, Denmark and Sweden, and exhibited their products at a record number of trade fairs worldwide. For the following period Belgrade-based Trikotaza Ivkovic announces an investment of EUR 2.2 million in a new production facility, jobs for another 100 workers as well as participation in an exhibition in China.

- We owe our international success to participation in trade fairs, with the number of exhibitions abroad we attend growing bigger every year. Last year we exhibited our products at six trade fairs in Europe and six trade fairs in the USA. We've been exporting products to the USA since 2007, when Trikotaza Ivkovic won the Exporter of the Year Award. Our products were earlier marketed through distributors, but we decided to boost our exports, which is why we opened a company in the USA in late 2012 - Milos Ivkovic, director of the Trikotaza Ivkovic company, starts a talk with eKapija.

They have 100 small buyers across the ocean, and their products can be directly bought in large market chains such as Von Maur, which includes about 40 department stores, or ordered from National Geographic catalogs.

Their exports to Russia are bigger than those to the USA, so that people at the Belgrade-based company plan to increase their presence in the Russian market through distributors.

(Photo: ivko.com)

- The company has no organized sales system in Russia. Products are exported directly, with buyers coming to us. We are oriented towards working with a large number of small buyers, and we should offer that market some kind of customer service. The idea is to import all goods at one place, clear them all at once through customs, and then distribute these goods within the market as this is more cost-effective. We were working on a strategy for entering the Russian market, but a big problem there is the lack of protection mechanisms we've got used to in western Europe and the USA. There is no risk of failure to collect payments in western markets – Ivkovic explains.

Russians are very interested in the clothing brand Ivko, which is evident from the number of visitors from that country to the company's website. Also, unauthorized people have been selling the products of this Belgrade-based company online in Russia for years now. However, Trikotaza Ivkovic has not yet managed to disable such activities.

The company exported over 90 percent of the total production last year, whereas Ivko clothing will this year be offered to the Chinese market as well.

- Our products have been exported to Hong Kong for several years now. We find the market of China very interesting, so I should visit a fashion show in Shanghai in August to see how such events look like in that country. China is the quickest-growing market for luxury products, and we would like to try to penetrate that market. Next year we plan to go to that show and present our collection for the winter 2014 - our interlocutor announces.

(Photo: ivko.com)

When it comes to Europe, their largest buyers are situated in Germany as this Belgrade-based company has been running a branch office in that country for years now.

- We already have 500 buyers in Germany and can find another 100 there, while the number of our clients in the Netherlands has reached a stable figure of approximately 110. Last year we began business activities in Great Britain, Denmark and Sweden.

New factory in Blace by 2015

Last year Trikotaza Ivkovic achieved a 30 percent growth, and considering that they have no capacity to expand, the plan is to open a new factory.

- We are proud of our factory in Blace, which was created out of nothing and now serves as the basis for our production. Since there is no room to expand the production facility in Belgrade, the plan is to commission a new factory in Blace by 2015. Our plan is to double production by 2016.

Trikotaza Ivkovic currently employs 156 workers, with 20 workers attending a training course as the factory in Blace is constantly growing, and plans to hire another 100 people in the near future.

New knitting machines for the factory in Blace will be procured from Germany's Stoll, with which Trikotaza Ivkovic has a good cooperation. Investment in the factory in Blace is expected to reach EUR 2.2 million.

(Photo: ivko.com)

Trikotaza Ivkovic has already prepared a collection for the next winter. Our offer now includes 120 new models, which are available in four color combinations and five sizes.

- On January 15th we started selling a collection that will hit stores in August. Our new summer collection includes 80 models. There are six designers working at our company, and I can say that we do not lag behind international fashion companies in trends at all.

Trikotaza Ivkovic has students from England coming to practice every six months. Our interlocutor says that they also had a practitioner from Germany who has stayed to work at the factory in Blace.

S.O.