The “From the Office to the Store” program ran from June to September and gave board members and other managerial employees from headquarters a first-hand view of the daily routines of their frontline staff. The company’s focus on worker wellbeing and retention also includes bonuses for top performing locations and a strategy to integrate employees of acquired companies. “Seeing what our store colleagues do every day is invaluable for those of us who work in offices,” said Biljana Kostović, in charge of HR projects at Studenac, who spent time working at a downtown shop in the coastal city of Split. “As we continue to grow rapidly, it’s important to stay close to our employees and understand their needs and the challenges they encounter.”
Since its 2018 acquisition by private-equity fund Enterprise Investors, Studenac has tripled its store network through acquisitions and organic growth throughout the country. Today it has more than 6,000 employees and is targeting a 10% market share and the No. 3 position in sales by 2025.
“This project gave us an opportunity to assist our colleagues, deepen our connections, embrace new challenges and create beautiful memories,” said Board President Michał Seńczuk, who also spent a day at a store in Split. “Strengthening collaboration among all members of our team is one of the most crucial aspects of our business, and we look forward to future initiatives.”
His fellow board member Nina Mimica, Studenac’s chief innovation officer, was reminded of her first ever job – scanning barcodes in a store in the United States. This summer, she experienced the dynamics of seasonal demand at a Studenac store on the Adriatic coast, a popular destination for tourists from across Europe. Her duties included restocking and organizing shelves, updating prices and assisting customers.
“I talked to customers, answered questions about prices, helped people find things, and checked if we had cucumbers in stock,” Mimica said. “I enjoyed it because I like organizing and creating things, whether it’s my closet at home or the shelves in a store.”
Bonus program
Studenac is focused on delivering the best possible shopping experience for its customers by ensuring its employees are engaged and motivated. In addition to raising average salaries by around 20% compared to last year the company also rolled out its “One Month – Two Salaries” program in October.
Each month, employees at the three Studenac stores that have the best performance on metrics including sales, customer service and overall store management will be rewarded with double their regular salaries.
“We believe in rewarding excellence and exceptional efforts within our organization,” Kostović said. “The ‘One Month – Two Salaries’ project is a way for us to show our appreciation for our employees’ dedication and hard work, and to provide an extra incentive for our teams to continue delivering exceptional results.”
Studenac has also developed a model for integrating newly acquired companies, a key tool for a company that has taken over 15 smaller players over the past five years, investing more than €120 million. Those acquisitions have brought around 2,900 new employees into the company, including more than 1,300 in a single transaction when Studenac bought Lonia Trgovina last year.
The integration strategy centers on understanding the target company’s organizational culture and crafting a comprehensive plan of alignment, a process that can take up to 12 months. Employees of acquired entities keep their original benefits and are entitled to new ones available to Studenac employees.
“People are at the center of the entire process,” says Andrija Topić, director of integration. “It is crucial to keep them motivated because they know local customers and their habits best, and we are happy to say that we have an extremely high employee retention rate after integration.”
Founded in 1991, Studenac d.o.o. is Croatia’s largest retail chain by number of stores, with more than 1,200 outlets. After two decades of primarily organic growth, the company’s expansion accelerated in 2018 when it was purchased by leading regional private equity fund Enterprise Investors. That investment led to the acquisitions of Istarski Supermarketi and Sonik the following year; Bure Trgovina in 2021; and Pemo, Kordun, Duravit and Lonia Trgovina in 2022. After growing organically and investing more than €120 million in acquisitions, Studenac now employs more than 6,000 people and is present throughout the country, including the capital Zagreb. The company’s international management team is building a leading nationwide proximity retail chain, rolling out new concepts and formulas from cutting-edge global retailers on the local market. For more information, please visit studenac.hr/en.
