Mit - Index

Mit - UVK_Sinfo_2008_10_št.14 - Index

BUSINESSBUsinEssBUSINESSBUsinEssBUSINESSBUsinEssBUSINESS
keMPINSkI PalaCe hOtel OPeNeD
The landmark Portorož hotel Palace, which has been under
renovation since 2006, welcomed its first guests on 12 October,
while the opening ceremony was held on 18 October. The
refurbishment of the prestigious hotel, now bearing the name
Kempinski Palace Portorož, cost EUR 70m. The Kempinski
Palace Hotel is a part of the Kempinski chain of high-end hotels,
investor Istrabenz Hoteli Portorož said. Istrabenz Hoteli Portorož
signed a 20-year management contract for the landmark hotel
with Kempinski in June. Kempinski will manage the hotel
independently, while the building itself will remain in the hands
of Istrabenz.
The Kempinski chain will advertise the hotel through its sales
network. Besides hospitality at the highest level, it will also offer
sinfo 14 24
its guests in Portorož attractive wellness services and cuisine.
The owners of the hotel, a subsidiary of the Istrabenz holding,
view the opening of the hotel as an affirmation of the potential
Slovenian tourism has. Built at the turn of the 19th century,
the luxurious Palace Hotel was the largest hotel of the Austro-
Hungarian Empire. It boasted top-of-the-line amenities and a
variety of premises for socialising, such as a reception room, a
crystal hall and gentlemen’s and ladies’ salons.
But its splendour since faded − the hotel was last refurbished in
1951 and had been closed since 1990.
SlOVeNIaN COMPaNIeS IN DOW jONeS
StOXX INDeX FaMIly
A leading international company for stock market indexation,
Stoxx Limited, on 7 October launched a new family of indexes
for Eastern Europe, which includes the most successful
Slovenian companies on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange. With
the new indexes, the Slovenian stock issuers will become more
recognisable internationally and more important within the
region, the Ljubljana Stock Exchange wrote on its website. The
new index group of Eastern Europe measures the performance
of top stocks traded in 18 countries of Eastern and especially
South Eastern Europe. The 13 Slovenian companies in the index
are (in order of strength in the index): drug maker Krka, energy
group Petrol, conglomerate Sava, telco Telekom Slovenije, retailer
Mercator, household appliance maker Gorenje, bank NKBM,
beverage group Pivovarna Laško, port operator Luka Koper,
conglomerate Istrabenz, coatings maker Helios, shipping firm
Intereuropa and airport operator Aerodrom Ljubljana.
CONFeReNCe DISCuSeS CONSuMeR
habItS aND glObalISatION
The biggest challenge that the Slovenian retail sector will
have to face in the future is the changeable shopping habits
of domestic buyers, participants of a conference dubbed
≈Triangle of Growth: Buyers, Retailers, Suppliers«, which
was organised by the Chamber of Commerce, agreed on
8 October at Brdo pri Kranju. The Slovenian consumer is
becoming an increasingly important element in the supplierretailer-buyer
triangle, said Geni Arh of the research company
Arhea. More attention should be given to consumers, as their
shopping habits are changing, she added. Arh pointed to an
increase in the sales of non-food products and services, and
added that consumers have become more mobile and better
educated, but also less loyal and more unpredictable. They
are prepared to put less time and effort into shopping, she
added. Retailers have already responded to these changes
by turning big shopping malls into entertainment centres on
the one hand and reviving small neighbourhood shops on the
other. Discount stores and online sales are also becoming more
important, Arh said. According to her, suppliers must also react
to the situation. In her opinion, the best way to do that is by
creating strong brands. Companies decide to move to foreign
markets due to a slow-down in the domestic market, explained
Igor Maroša of the research company AT Kearny. According
to him, the most interesting foreign markets for Slovenian
retail are Eastern European and Russian markets. Retail is one
of the most important branches of the Slovenian economy.
The 23,000 retailers employ 110,000 people, who generate a
third of the country's income, Dušan Mramor, the dean of the
Ljubljana Faculty of Economics, said. The Slovenian retail sector