Deals
The Summer That Would Save Agrokor From Decay May Never Come
- Consumers desert Konzum brand for cheaper outlets such as Lidl
- Agrokor to be dismantled, state-picked crisis manager says
A customer enters the entrance to a Super Konzum supermarket, operated by Agrokor dd, in Zagreb.
Photographer: Oliver Bunic/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The annual invasion of tourists was supposed to offer a financial reprieve for the biggest retailer in scenic Croatia. Instead, this summer is shaping up as another source of grief in Agrokor d.d.’s spiraling crisis, which has threatened economies across the Balkans.
Agrokor needs the millions of foreigners who flock to Croatian resorts each year to spend money at its Konzum grocery stores, the group’s biggest source of cash. Yet, even locals are abandoning the outlets, taking their business to competitors like Lidl, which in the past decade has built itself into a major force in the former Yugoslav country.