The relocant business is growing larger in Serbia – Kommersant FM
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Russians have become more active in opening businesses in Serbia. Moreover, cafes and beauty salons have been replaced by large production and logistics companies. Local business consultants shared such observations with Kommersant FM. According to their data, by the end of 2023, 9 thousand companies and individual entrepreneurs with Russian participation were registered in Serbia. In 2022 there were 6 thousand of them. And in 2021 – less than 2 thousand. Thus, the pace of new players entering the market has slowed down. However, analysts expect reopening businesses to have a better chance of succeeding. The topic will be continued by Alexander Rassokhin.
Proximity to Europe, friendly attitude towards Russians, a three-hour flight to Moscow – all this convinced many relocants to open a business in Serbia. According to them, the process of registering a company or individual entrepreneur is similar to the Russian one, but lasts longer – about two months. But renting a room that does not require renovation is no longer easy, co-owner of the Kofilin coffee shop chain Anatoly Pobozhev shares his experience. The $10 thousand invested in the establishment paid off in eight months, the interlocutor of Kommersant FM told:
“It’s difficult to find delicious coffee. I had to look for suppliers. In general, the HoReCa segment there is at the level of Russia in 2010. You buy lids from one supplier, glasses from another. There aren’t even capholders – they’re just cardboard boxes. 80% of the guests were Russians, then the Serbs tried them, including the cheesecakes.
That cottage cheese and products made from it can be sweet is incomprehensible to them. That’s why we train them. Several local bloggers advertised about us and came themselves. Investments range from €12 thousand to €30 thousand, depending on what kind of premises you find.”
Manicurists also talk about difficulties with purchasing materials. Many people got into this business because they simply couldn’t find the usual quality of service in Serbia. Russian masters charge €20 for gel polish coating, while the standard price for this service in Serbia is half that. This inaccessibility has a downside: if the master quits, it won’t be possible to quickly find a replacement. You can lose revenue for the entire high season, says Beba beauty & bar CEO Irina Plotnikova. She made a bet on selling alcohol in her salon:
“Two experienced craftsmen left in the summer, and the demand was huge. You could earn a lot more. Then they hired craftsmen, but they left, some decided to work for themselves. I told my employees that I would give them a bonus for bringing me a new one.
A lot of materials simply don’t exist. Much from China. In general, Serbia has friendly trade relations with China, but we are not satisfied with the quality. We work on Russian materials, but they are much more expensive, and they have to be transported – this is something we were not prepared for. Our format is not only a nail salon, but also a bar, concerts and parties. You don’t need an alcohol license in Serbia.”
Over the past two years, the Russians have also opened kindergartens, bookstores, cosmetic production and development companies in Serbia. But IT specialists have been the most active in developing the market; the Serbian authorities provide them with more benefits. Small developers admit that even before the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine they had clients in Western countries. To continue working with them, an office in a neutral jurisdiction was required. Moreover, such a move often has to be hidden from clients in Russia, admits the owner of one of the marketing agencies, Mikhail:
“Serbia is not such a big market. Rather, for companies with roots in Russia, this is an opportunity to be listed as a non-Russian legal entity. Of course, I always wanted to enter the international market and develop there. A lot has changed in a year and a half. Something has become digitalized. You can now apply for a residence permit here even online, but to confirm the payment, you need to come to a bank branch. I remembered how it was with us 15 years ago, we also had to go somewhere with payment cards.”
Among the advantages of the Serbian market, Russians note, for example, an income tax of only 15%. Housing and communal services tariffs and average salaries are lower than in EU countries – about €1 thousand. Large transport corridors also pass through Serbia. This attracted logistics companies, but as the fight against sanctions evasion intensified, such business became more difficult to conduct. In general, about a third of the players registered a year ago were unable to continue working, notes Nina Barudzhia, leading consultant of the Welcome to Serbia association:
“Either this is a too expendable business for them, or the relocants already planned that they would move on, and Serbia was only a transit. It is more difficult when activities that require licensing, financial and, of course, production are opened. In 2022, they opened more businesses to relocate. There were also branches associated with European and American companies. In 2023, these will be more serious companies, import-export, production. You can feel the difference that it took a long time to make a decision. Now banks have already limited the activity codes they work with. More information is required when opening an account. Compliance is stricter.”
Relocated businessmen increasingly have to fight for clients in Belgrade with other Russian companies, Kommersant FM’s interlocutors say. Visitors from Moscow and St. Petersburg, for example, are divided among themselves by cafes and beauty salons, which were opened by entrepreneurs from the same cities. We have to get out. For example, move to the b2b segment and supply consumables, including to your competitors.
Everything is clear with us – Telegram channel “Kommersant FM”.
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