Bosnian trading company As Group is launching a new national supermarket chain. which will mainly sell locally produced goods.
According to CEO Rusmir Hrvi?, the new retailer, with a working name “BH Bazar”, will be open to all quality products from Bosnia and Herzegovina, without limitation and without additional payments for special positions within the stores.
He added that the fight for shelf space will primarily depend on the quality of the brand and its market value. It is expected that some 70 per cent of the products offered will be locally produced.
The existing retailers in Bosnia claim that domestic products are not yet sufficiently represented on their shelves for reasons of an economic nature, mainly due to problems with the quality of certain goods, quantity and continuity of supply.
As Group has leased three stores previously used by Slovenian retail chain Tuš which left the Bosnian market at the end of last year and is aiming for a total of 100 stores.
The new supermarket chain will operate on a market that saw major changes over the past year, with the exit of three foreign retail groups.
Bosnian retail chains Bingo and Tropic Group bought out the local units of France’s Intermarché and Belgium’s Delhaize, respectively, while Slovenian supermarket chain Tuš pulled out of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Croatian food producer and retailer Konzum remains market leader, following the acquisition of Slovenian peer Mercator and rebranding its stores to Konzum.
Tešanj-based As Group consists of a total of nine companies, including Bosnia’s biggest baker and miller Klas and food processing company Vispak. Among the group’s best-selling products in the Balkan region are Zlatna Dzezva (coffee), Zlatni Puder (flour), Bosanski Lokum (Bosnian Delight), Beg’s Soup, Tajna (seasonings), Kent (biscuits), Oaza (bottled water), as well as Klas-branded bread, baklava and pies.
The product portfolio will be expanded this year, with the launch of new Vispak-branded spices, cappuccino and hot chocolate, plus Fit biscuits and new bakery products from Klas.
As Group has also launched several pilot projects, with a long-term plan of developing the processing and production of berries and other forest fruits as well as mushrooms.
