Subotica-based Symbol for more than two decades in graphic industry - World top brands at Serbian, Croatian and Hungarian market

(Photo: Marko Andrejić)

Nineties may have been unfavorable period for Serbia as a country, war times and time of international sanctions but many companies then got their chance. Branko Krekic ,one of the founders at Symbol from Subotica says in his interview for eKapija that due to embargo at that time in country, many things were missing so despite very complicated terms for business it was a chance for the ones with entrepreneurial spirit.

- In 1993, Dragisa Mickoski and me set up the company. We were lucky to encounter right partners and choose the adequate associates. The first and the most important partner we have had until today was world famous one Sericol from Great Britain. It is the company operating in production of colors for silk-screen print and which was later taken over by Fujifilm but it practically continued operating with the same people. We received some starting loans from them and it was support for us at the beginning – Krekic explains.

Symbol started operating in wholesale of graphic material, machines and silk-screen print equipment, flex printing and digital printing. In the meantime, they expanded activity to retail of production material for digital, silk-screen print and UV flex printing and the company opened its business unit in Belgrade. As the work was progressing, Symbol set up in 2006 a daughter company in Zagreb Graphic Center while in 2012 it stepped into the Hungarian market when in Budapest it registered another daughter company Sericol Hungary.

(Photo: Marko Andrejić)

Branko Krekic outlines that Symbol started with modest capital and loans from friends and cousins and the company, without any guarantee, “trust-based” got a high delayed payment from Sericol.

Biggest business challenges - insolvency and payment collection

(Photo: Marko Andrejić)

Symbol started its business with only a few suppliers, foreign companies, whose products it places at the Serbian market. These products comprise production material for printing and machines or additional equipment for graphic industry. Today, the company mainly distributes world top brands in the field

Symbol currently has 24 people in Serbia and together with Croatia and Hungary, Symbol Group has 40 people.

Penetration into higher market segment

(Photo: Marko Andrejić)

Target group which this Subotica-based company distributes is wide. Printing companies mainly operating in the service and print for others and textile producers, i.e. industry which uses printing machines directly on their products are mainly buyers.

There is competition in this activity but Branko Krekic says there are no “low hits” and that they have very good cooperation with all colleagues. There is less space at the local market so Symbol decided to step into Croatian and Hungarian markets.

Marko Andrejic