Budapest Business Journal 3215

GKid E-tail Rankings Shed Light on Evolving Market

Kifli topped GKid’s FMCG ranking for the second year in a row as the online shopping service with the highest turnover in the Hungarian market. Tesco was again the runner-up in the FMCG Top 10, while Auchan’s online store came third.  12

Coop Hungary: Local Giant With a Plan

Coop has maintained stability even amidst steeply dropping real wages. The domestic giant says it aims to keep it that way by building on Hungarian products, offering auxiliary services to people living in smaller settlements, and harnessing the power of digitalization.  13

Meet the FMCG Pioneer

Extraordinary Tale of Music and Hope

Roxanne de Bastion’s first book “The Piano Player of Budapest: A True Story of Holocaust, Survival, Music and Hope” is a moving account of the life of her Jewish Hungarian grandfather Stephen, a successful pianist and composer in this country in the 1930s.  21

Central Bank Cuts Base Rate Again

Martin Coulam, one of the pioneering team set up to manage Tesco’s drive into Central Europe, was hands-on in the Pólus Center when the brand opened in 1996, as he tells us. 11

Although it said rate cuts would stop for a while, the National Bank of Hungary once again reduced its key interest rate at its latest policy meeting on July 23. This was the 15th cut since the reduction cycle started last May. Analysts expect the base rate to stand at 6% at the end of the year.  3

Hungary’s Ganz and Czech collaborator SOR have showcased the Ganz-SOR EBN8 electric midibus prototype. If serial production is given the go-ahead, the partners could produce 50 units a year.  7

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Robin Marshall

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS: Luca Albert, Balázs Barabás, Zsófia Czifra, Kester Eddy, Bence Gaál, Gergely Herpai, David Holzer, Gary J. Morrell, Nicholas Pongratz, Gergő Rácz.

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THE EDITOR SAYS

IN PRAISE OF A CHANGING FMCG LANDSCAPE

For expats of a particular vintage, there is always a strong element of nostalgia about what life was like when they first came to Hungary. Not in the perhaps more usual sense that “life was better in my days” (although some may be pining for their long lost youth), but rather in how far Hungary has come. In one odd sense, expats may be able to judge this better than Hungarians. If it is true that you cannot miss what you do not know, it is equally the case that if you have grown up with Heinz Baked Beans, for example, and you now find it from hard to impossible to buy, you very well do know what you are missing!

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You may well dismiss this as a bad case of “First World problems,” but those who have lived in Hungary even longer than my 25-plus years tell me it used to be extremely difficult to get tinned tuna. The once typically British breakfast cereal Weetabix, now owned by the Chinese, was another hard-to-source product, as was recognizable bacon (as opposed to the much fattier Hungarian szalonna my hotel regularly served at breakfast in my first weeks here).

I was reminded of all of this by our interview with one of the pioneer team that brought the British retail giant Tesco to Hungary in 1996. As Martin Coulam tells Kester Eddy, Hungary was a very different country in those pre-internet days when the first store opened just a couple of years before I arrived. Size was everything back then. When I was editing the old, now defunct newspaper The Budapest Sun, the British retailer had two of its largest stores in the world in Budapest. It would have been easier to list what they did not sell than what they did (I don’t think I will

ever forget the sight or smell of the giant aquariums of live fish). The Cora brand has come and gone since those days, but the likes of Aldi, Auchan, Lidl, Penny and Spar have joined local players in transforming the FMCG marketplace in Hungary.

Here’s another indicator of the progress this country has made. A frequent complaint from expats back in the day was the poor quality of customer service. If you had the temerity to attempt to pay for goods using a HUF 10,000 bill, you would be met with shrugs, a muttered “Sajnálom,” and much gesturing at the coins in the cash till. And that was if you were lucky. The response to this and so much more was often just downright rude. But all things are relative. Back at The Budapest Sun, I had a Romanian photographer. “Oh, Robin,” she would tell me, “We dream of Hungarian levels of customer service in Bucharest.” Hungary has come a long way, and I am sure Romania has, too. Sometimes, it is worth remembering that.

This is our last print issue of the Budapest Business Journal before we follow our 32-year tradition of taking an August break. Our next issue will be published on Sep. 6. But the daily newsletters will continue to go out, and the website will be updated regularly every day, so you’ll still be able to keep up with the business news and information you need from Hungary. In the meantime, I hope all of you will find the time to enjoy some fun and relaxation under the summer sun, whether here or abroad.

Robin Marshall Editor-in-chief

THEN & NOW

The photograph above from the Fortepan public archive depicts Brazilian racing legend Ayrton Senna, competing on Aug.10, 1986 at the first Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród (24 km northeast of Budapest by road) in a Lotus-Renault. Senna finished the race in second place, behind countryman Nelson Piquet in a WilliamsHonda. Thirty-nine years later, the picture left, from state news agency MTI, captures Oscar Piastri of McLaren heading down the start-finish straight, leading the 2024 Hungarian GP. The Australian driver went on to take his maiden win in the race on July 21.

Photo by András Glósz / Fortepan

Photo by Zsolt

Czeglédi / MTI

1News

• macroscope

Central Bank Cuts Base Rate Once Again

Although it said rate cuts would stop for a while, the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) once again reduced its key interest rate at its latest policy meeting on July 23. This was the 15th cut since the reduction cycle started last May. Analysts expect the base rate to stand at 6% at the end of the year.

ZSÓFIA CZIFRA

Despite its previous communication, the Monetary Council of the MNB did not step on the brake: at its latest rate-setting meeting, it reduced the base interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.75%. The decision corresponds to preliminary analyst expectations: while a month ago it seemed that the central bank would stop interest rate cuts for a while, the developments of the past weeks made it seem more likely it wouldn’t do so.

MNB Deputy Governor Virág Barnabás announced at the interest rate meeting a month ago that, since the risks in the external environment were very strong, limiting the central bank’s room for maneuver, a new phase in domestic monetary policy would begin in July.

The fact that it didn’t end up like this can be attributed to the favorable domestic and international environment: all signs point to the fact that the Federal Reserve, the American central bank, will finally cut interest rates in September. This is important because even the slightest relaxation by the Fed relieves the pressure on emerging markets, providing the MNB with room for maneuver before further interest rate cuts. This was shown at the end of last year when the market priced in 3-4

interest rate cuts by the Fed, and because of this, the forint was also stronger than it is now.

Source:

Inflation in EU Member States (June 2024) 12-month change in consumer prices June 2023-June 2024.

At a background discussion following the latest Monetary Council meeting, Virág argued that strict monetary policy was still the key to achieving sustainable inflation. He added that it was a constant task to keep inflation anchored around 3%, which is the target of the central bank.

Policy Cornerstones

According to him, the cornerstones of strict policy are inflation risks, the development of Hungary’s risk perception, the country’s position in the region, and the change in the international monetary policy environment. He reminded that a new phase in domestic economic policy began in June, according to which the council decides on the base interest rate month by month.

Based on the current information, market analysts expect another one or two interest rate cuts. This trajectory could be considered realistic, Virág said, adding that from an 18-month

perspective, the interest rate risks are significantly downward.

“The interest rate cut was supported by the still favorable inflationary processes. The rate

“Although inflation may accelerate in the coming months due to base effects, the extent of this is not expected to be significant. Starting from the beginning of next year, the pace of inflation may slow down again and reach the central bank’s target by the summer of 2025.”

of price increase has been within the central bank’s tolerance band for months, and although the inflation of services substantially increases the rate of inflation, there is no primary price pressure behind it, but rather the pricing practices of companies,” says Dániel Molnár, senior analyst at Makronóm Intézet.

“Although inflation may accelerate in the coming months due to base effects, the extent of this is not

expected to be significant. Starting from the beginning of next year, the pace of inflation may slow down again and reach the central bank’s target by the summer of 2025,” he adds.

For this reason, the positive backward-looking real interest rate previously considered necessary by the central bank can be maintained even with lower interest rates, Molnár believes. He adds that there would still be room for two further interest rate cuts of 25 basis points, but three cuts should not be excluded either, as a result of which the central bank could reduce its base rate to 6% by the end of the year.

Moderating Expectations

“So far, there has been no break in the interest rate reduction cycle. While at first it seemed after the June meeting that the central bank would wait for a while with further easing, in the last two weeks interest rate expectations have clearly moderated,” agrees Márta Balog-Béki, senior analyst at MBH Bank.

“For the time being, we maintain our expectation that the base interest rate may decrease to 6.5% by the end of the year, but there are downside risks in whether the market processes of the next few weeks and the incoming international and domestic macro data provide the opportunity for several interest rate cuts,” she says.

Equilor’s senior analyst, Zoltán Varga, also argues that since the last interest rate meeting on June 18, several favorable developments have enabled the rate cut. On the one hand, although core inflation rose in June, headline inflation fell to 3.7%.

On the other hand, Hungary’s risk assessment has improved slightly, and the recently announced government measures, although they might have an inflationary effect, could bring the budget deficit target closer, according to the analyst.

The forint strengthened slightly against the euro and, to a greater extent, the dollar. Expectations of an interest rate cut in the United States increased significantly, which is an important aspect for the MNB regarding its scope for interest rate cuts. The president of the European Central Bank has also cautiously hinted that its interest rate cut cycle may continue in September.

According to Varga, the MNB may take a pause in August and then continue the interest rate-cutting cycle at its policy meeting on Sep. 24, depending on the decisions of the ECB and the Fed that month.

Industrial Markets Remain Attractive Across CEE

The total supply of modern industrial and logistics stock across the capital city markets in the CEE-13 countries amounts to almost 25 million sqm, with a further over 67 million sqm at the country level. Poland remains the largest market in the region, with a modern stock of more than 30 million sqm, accounting for approximately 45% of the total, according to Colliers in its “ExCEEding Borders: Navigating the Industrial Landscape and Workforce in CEE-13” report.

“The significant interest in the I&L asset class, with investors seeking various opportunities such as land acquisition, single assets, large portfolios, and long income sale and leaseback arrangements, have all been observed,” says Dominika Jędrak, director of research and consultancy for CEE at Colliers.

CTP Leases More Than 100,000 sqm

The leading industrial developer, owner, and manager CTP has leased more than 100,000 sqm of logistics space to a leading Korean logistics specialist in the automotive industry.

“The company has selected the Breeam ‘Outstanding’ CTPark Budapest West as the location for its distribution center within the park’s building complex of nearly 300,000 sqm of floor space, making it the largest CTPark in Hungary and the sixth largest in the CTPark network, with plans underway to develop an additional 80,000 sqm,” said the developer.

Within Central and Eastern Europe, there are a total of 33 car manufacturing plants, and the region surpassed Germany in nominal car production in 2022. Eurostat data shows that car production in the CEE has increased by almost 50% over the past eight years, reflecting foreign direct investment inflows and illustrating the region’s strength as the leading production location in Europe. CEE, and Hungary especially, is becoming an increasingly strategic location for the automotive industry, says Ferenc Gondi, managing director at CTP Hungary.

CTP says it now has 1 million sqm of I&L space and an additional 240,000 sqm under construction in Hungary.

“However, the sector is not immune to economic and geopolitical influences, including higher financing costs, pricing mismatches between buyers and sellers, and limited product availability. Despite these challenges, the I&L sector remains a key focus for investment in the CEE-6 (Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria),” she adds.

Colliers puts total I&L stock at 5.1 million sqm in Hungary, with a further

480,000 sqm

under construction and a vacancy rate of 7.7%. This compares to a stock of 11.7 million in the Czech Republic, with 1.3 million under construction and a vacancy rate of 1.8%.

Despite economic fluctuations, the overall outlook for the I&L sector in the broader CEE region remains positive, with expectations of

Real Estate Matters

A biweekly look at real estate issues in Hungary and the region

continued growth and performance. Capital values per sqm continue to look attractive relative to Western Europe.

Falling Demand?

“Despite variations in vacancy rates among the CEE-13 countries, demand for I&L space has been strong in recent years, driven mainly by sectors such as 3PL [third-party logistics], retail, and distribution. However, a decrease in demand was recorded in most countries in 2023, attributed partly to economic and geopolitical factors,” says Jędrak.

Concerning the increasing role of sustainability issues in the sector, Silviu Pop, director of research at Colliers CEE, sees sustainability initiatives in the CEE-6 region impacting almost 90%

of the total stock of modern industrial and logistics space.

“The CEE-6 countries have been implementing green solutions in buildings for a long time, resulting in facilities with the highest levels of environmental certification, such as Breeam or Leed. Progress in ESG implementation varies across the CEE-6 countries, but it is the most developed group of countries among the wider CEE-13 in this respect,” Pop notes.

The labor market in the CEE13 region, particularly in the production and logistics sectors, sees significant salary disparities among countries, with notable increases observed in the CEE-6 region. This growth is attributed to the nearshoring trend in logistics and the automation of production processes. While the production sector has been experiencing

HelloParks PT2 receives occupancy permit

industrial real estate developer in the country in less than four years. That is based on the total

Faedra Group raises EUR 17 mln

A total of EUR 17 million worth of investment units were subscribed to the Faedra II Real Estate Development Fund, managed by Faedra Fund Management, a part of the real estate group.

“This successful capital raising confirms the trust investors have in Faedra, which is based on competence, delivering previous yield promises, and outstanding yield potential. It also enables Faedra to strengthen its logistics branch, continue successful industrial-logistics development projects from recent years, and exploit identified opportunities in this asset class,” said Bence Boronkay, founder and CEO of Faedra Group.

Faedra is a privately owned Hungarian real estate development group involved in both industrial/logistics and residential projects. It has successfully completed and sold industrial-logistics developments such as the Park in Szigetszentmiklós (23 km south of the capital) and Faedra22 Park, just inside the boundaries of Budapest, which has reached full occupancy.

substantial year-on-year expansion, the logistics sector is growing at a more modest pace. The increasing demand for qualified personnel in logistics and production specializations is seen as driving businesses to expand and develop closer to the Central European region.

area of its delivered real estate, which is currently around 310,000 sqm, says HelloParks.

Gebrüder Weiss, the company’s largest tenant, will soon move into the fully let PT2 building with 32,000 sqm of space.

The developer, part of the Futureal group, is currently working on two large-scale projects: construction of the 42,000 sqm BigBox type PT3 has already started at HelloParks Páty and in Alsónémedi (25 km southeast of the center of the capital by road), Hungary’s largest speculative industrial property, the 60,000 sqm BigBox type AN1, will be completed by the end of the summer, meaning that a further 102 million sqm are currently under construction.

GARY J. MORRELL

HelloParks’ PT2 hall in Páty (20 km west of central Budapest by road) has received its occupancy permit, making the company

the third-largest

EU Fall-out Follows Unsanctioned ‘Peace Mission’

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s unsanctioned visits to Russia and China to treat with their respective presidents as part of his “peace mission” has been met with condemnation by European Union leaders and looks likely to have at least some consequences for Hungary’s rotating presidency of the European Council.

During the first week of Hungary’s presidency, Orbán met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, when he suggested that Zeleksky consider a ceasefire with a deadline, followed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, to discuss a resolution to the conflict. EU leaders responded immediately, insisting that Orbán did not represent the EU Council during his meeting with Putin especially. Since then, EU officials have argued that Orbán’s visit to Russia may have been illegal. According to the EU’s legal service, the Hungarian PM’s actions violated the bloc’s treaties that forbid any “measure which could jeopardize the attainment of the Union’s objectives.”

They also said he had violated a legal provision calling on all members to perform foreign policy activities “unreservedly in a spirit of loyalty

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and mutual solidarity.” The European Parliament concurred in a resolution, labeling Orbán’s meeting with Putin “a blatant violation of the EU’s Treaties and common foreign policy.”

Some 63 European Parliament lawmakers issued a statement asking the EU to withdraw Hungary’s voting rights in the bloc, claiming Orbán “has already caused significant damage by exploiting and abusing the role of the Council Presidency.”

Meanwhile, a growing number of EU countries have started pulling ministers out of a series of informal gatherings in Budapest in a symbolic show of protest. At a recent Hungarianhosted gathering of energy officials in Budapest, several countries neglected to send senior ministers, with at least four saying it was in protest.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, officially announced that an upcoming

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Minister of Justice Bence Tuzson holds a press conference on the second day of the informal meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in the framework of the Hungarian EU Presidency at Várkert Bazár on July 23.

Photo by Noémi Bruzák / MTI Roundup Crisis

Although Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said that Hungary’s deliveries of crude had been secured with “temporary solutions” the following day, he said Ukraine’s measures had come “as a shock.” He called the step “incomprehensible, unacceptable and unfriendly,” noting that deliveries of Russian crude to Hungary and Slovakia through the Druzhba (“Friendship”) pipeline that runs through Ukraine were exempt from EU sanctions.

foreign affairs summit, previously scheduled to take place in Budapest on Aug. 28-29, would now occur in Brussels.

Symbolic Signal

“We have to send a signal, even if it is a symbolic signal, that being against the foreign policy of the European Union and disqualifying the policy of the European Union as the ‘party of war’ has to have some consequences,” Borrell said.

In the meantime, Hungary and Slovakia reported on July 18 that they had stopped receiving oil from Russian supplier Lukoil after Ukraine imposed a ban in June on the transit of resources from the company through its territory.

Hungary and Slovakia initiated a consultation procedure at the European Union against Ukraine for violating the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

“We are currently studying the contents of this letter and gathering more information before taking any decision,” an EC spokesperson said. However, Szijjártó said Hungary would block EU refunds for member states that gave munitions to Ukraine until it allowed the transit of oil from Russia’s Lukoil through its territory.

“As long as this issue is not resolved by Ukraine, everyone should forget about the payment of the EUR 6.5 billion of the European Peace Facility compensation for arms transfers,” Szijjártó told broadcaster ATV.

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NICHOLAS PONGRATZ

2 Business

Prototype Czech-Hungarian Electric Midibus Unveiled

Hungary’s Ganz and Czech collaborator SOR have showcased the Ganz-SOR EBN8 electric midibus prototype. If serial production is given the go-ahead after obtaining type approval, the partners could produce 50 units of the vehicle annually.

The prototype is the brainchild of Ganz Transelektro Közlekedési Berendezéseket Gyártó Kft. (Ganz Transelectro Transport Equipment Manufacturing Ltd, or GTKB) and SOR Libchavy, the second-largest manufacturer of buses in theCzech Republic, and was developed at GTKB’s factory in Baja (195 km south of Budapest by road).

The first public trip of the midibus took place in City Park, with journalists invited to take a ride. Based on that, your correspondent can reveal one significant drawback: the air conditioning is horribly weak, meaning the nearly 35 journalists on board almost cooked in the nearly 40°C (104°F) heat during the test run.

“The development of the midibus, from planning to finding the vehicle, selecting and integrating the equipment, writing the software, commissioning, assembly, and construction, took nearly a year and a half. The series product could be completed faster; this is a prototype,” said GTKB development engineer Attila Rónai.

The electric vehicle was developed with the support of a GINOP Plusz grant under the “Encouraging Corporate Research, Development, and Innovation Activities” tender. The bus’ “heart” (its drivetrain), system integration

and software were developed by GTKB experts, while SOR supplied the body from its EBN vehicle family.

High Demand, Low Availability

The two companies say they decided to develop the medium-sized midibus because this type of vehicle is in high demand worldwide, especially for urban transportation. One benefit the partnership offers is that technical solutions designed for the Ganz-SOR EBN8 are also suitable for existing members of the EBN family, meaning well-maintained diesel-powered units could be converted to electric operation.

The low-floor design of the prototype makes it accessible for people with disabilities thanks to its foldable ramps. It can comfortably (assuming they fix the aircon) accommodate 45 passengers and has 16 seats. The eight-meter (26-foot) vehicle has a reported range of up to 300 kilometers (186 miles). Ganz has also developed charging equipment, including an OpCharge-type pantograph fast charger and a dual-head, cableconnected 120 kW charging unit.

“The fast charger can charge the midibus in an hour, while the smaller one takes four hours, making it more suitable for overnight charging. The charging

devices are already internationally TÜV certified,” Rónai added.

Rudolf Pencz, CEO of GTKB, sees a robust potential market for the vehicle as a practical solution for narrow urban environments, university campuses, tourist attractions, and suburban public transport support.

“There are few midibuses on the international market, as the largest manufacturers do not specialize in this size. We see that the demand for mediumsized urban electric vehicles is growing year by year.”

“There are few midibuses on the international market, as the largest manufacturers do not specialize in this size. We see that the demand for medium-sized urban electric vehicles is growing year by year,” he explains.

Efficient Alternative

“The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated this process, changing transportation trends, with passenger numbers dropping on many routes. The midibus offers an efficient alternative for passenger transportation,” Pencz adds.

Last year, GTKB Kft.’s revenue was HUF 2.5 billion, down from HUF 2.61 bln in 2022, with a net profit of nearly

HUF

186 mln, compared to HUF 332 mln the previous year. The company’s average headcount last year exceeded 120 employees.

“GTKB was founded in 2007, but the plant has been serving the Hungarian economy for more than 70 years.

We have already made our mark in the production of railway vehicle equipment, signaling devices, switch drives, pantographs, and power electronics,” says Pencz. “With the development and production of the Ganz-SOR midibus, we are entering the e-mobility market.”

The company goes even further. While the spread of e-vehicles helps achieve environmental goals, their power supply poses challenges for the electricity provider. Therefore, the prototype’s innovations focus on exploiting the synergy between transport and energy production by developing an optimized control system that enhances the flexibility of the electrical grid.

With this, the company’s current developments, buses, and charging equipment can be used within renewable energy communities. Thanks to its battery pack, the EV can store or return energy, thus performing energy tasks in addition to public transport.

GERGELY HERPAI

The Ganz-SOR EBN8 electric midibus passes Budapest’s Fine Arts Museum in what would be its natural urban environment, with 35 slowly cooking journalists onboard.

Gloster’s Expansion: New Horizons in Foreign Markets

Nearly four years after Gloster shares began trading on the Budapest Stock Exchange’s Xtend market, Viktor Szekeres, the firm’s founder and chairman, addressed an investor briefing to elaborate on the company’s strategic plans and future prospects and why its journey remains, in his view, compelling.

with BMW, showcasing Gloster’s ability to secure high-value contracts and deliver superior performance.

Over the past few years, revenue and EBITDA have seen substantial growth, bolstered by an aggressive acquisition strategy resulting in 11 transactions within a 60-month span.

“Last year marked a unique chapter, but now it’s crucial to focus on what the future holds,” Szekeres remarked at the event on June 19. This forward-looking perspective underscores the company’s commitment to sustained growth and innovation. As the largest Hungarian-owned software exporter and the 12th-largest Hungarian-owned IT firm by revenue, Gloster aims to elevate its success to a global scale.

“Revenue per customer is highest in software development, and we are poised to expand this internationally,” Szekeres added. This ambition to penetrate international markets signifies a strategic shift aimed at leveraging the company’s strengths on a broader stage.

Unlike product sales, where profit margins are more predictable in software development, profitability hinges on the developer’s efficiency and the contract price, leading to higher margins with improved efficiency. This was exemplified by the announcement of a contract

Discussing growth prospects, Szekeres highlighted the pivotal role of artificial intelligence, forecasting that AI-integrated chips will soon become ubiquitous. He stressed that consistent revenue remains Gloster’s cornerstone, with export sales currently constituting half of the total revenue. The objective is to increase this percentage further, enhancing the company’s valuation and solidifying its position in the global market.

Growth Opportunity

The increasing reliance on AI technologies across various sectors is expected to drive demand for Gloster’s software solutions, providing a significant growth opportunity.

Gloster’s international growth strategy is concentrated on three core regions: the United Kingdom, DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), and the Nordics, with a particular focus on Sweden.

The latter, similar to Germany a few years back, presents significant outsourcing opportunities, with Gloster competing against the Baltic States. This strategic focus on key international markets is designed to maximize growth opportunities and establish a robust global presence.

To stand out in foreign markets, Gloster says it plans to launch two proprietary products shortly, which are under development and have garnered customer interest. These are expected to debut in the Hungarian market next year, demonstrating the IT firm’s commitment to innovation and its ability to meet diverse market needs.

However, the company has faced challenges, such as the impact of a strong forint and high inflation affecting IT salary demands. Despite increased wages, inflation has eroded these gains.

“The HR team’s role is not just about filling positions but about understanding the company’s business needs and ensuring we have the right talent to drive our success,” HR director Péter Oszlánszki said in an interview posted on LinkedIn. “Our team must compete fiercely to attract top talent in a market with a significant skills shortage,” Oszlánszki added in the LinkedIn interview.

“Last year marked a unique chapter, but now it’s crucial to focus on what the future holds.”

Nonetheless, internal synergies present opportunities for substantial cost savings, with the Level Up program expected to save HUF 200 million. Additionally, the Philippines SSC, set to open in Q3 or Q4, offers further savings potential due to wage increases.

AI Boost

Artificial intelligence could significantly bolster future growth, particularly with a Microsoft-centric approach. While Nvidia currently benefits from AI tool sales, Szekeres envisions Microsoft as the future market leader, a position where Gloster holds a strategic advantage.

This foresight into AI trends positions Gloster favorably in a rapidly evolving technological landscape, enabling the company to capitalize on emerging opportunities. By 2026, Gloster’s management projects sales to reach approximately HUF 15 bln, with EBITDA of around HUF 3 bln. This is expected to come from a combination of organic expansion, cost savings, and increased international sales.

Additionally, Gloster aims to acquire further stakes in its subsidiaries, increasing its holdings in Mineo to 70% and in P92 to 94%,

thereby boosting post-tax profits.

The company plans to raise additional funds in 2025 to finance these acquisitions. Despite significant debt, Gloster’s debt-to-EBITDA ratio remains low due to securing funds before the major interest rate hikes, keeping interest costs relatively low.

“Investing in Gloster is a strategic move,” Szekeres emphasized, citing the company’s strong foundation for growth, a competent team, clear strategic plans, and a focus on optimizing internal efficiencies. Gloster believes it is well-positioned to navigate the complexities of the global market and achieve sustained growth by expanding its market presence, innovating its product offerings, and optimizing operational efficiencies.

This comprehensive and strategic outlook reflects Gloster’s ambition to continue its growth trajectory, making it a compelling investment opportunity, Szekeres argues.

The company’s strategic initiatives are designed to support sustained growth and enhance stakeholder value.

From left, HR director Péter Oszlánszki; Péter Szilágyi, deputy managing director at Gloster-P92 Kft. and head of the software development division; László Földesi, one of the founders of Systemfarmer Zrt., a Microsoft certified trainer and solution architect; and Gergely Éberling, head of domestic services at Gloster. All spoke at the Investor event.

Yettel ‘Revolutionizes’ Mobile Experience with Digital Subscription

Yettel has announced what it says is a data revolution: for the first time in the history of mobile telecommunications in Hungary, it is introducing a digital-only subscription with no loyalty period and unlimited domestic data called Yepp, which takes the customer experience of mobile services to a new level with a complete focus on digitalization.

with the same simplicity and flexibility as fintech and streaming services, breaking with decades of “loyalty” period insistence while offering customers unlimited domestic data and speeds on the telco’s extensive 4G and expanding 5G network. During the launch period, which runs until

According to Yettel, owned by the originally Czech-based investment fund PPF, Hungarian residential customers can get a new, working subscription in minutes, without having to go in person, by simply using the app. Yepp can be activated, paused or terminated on demand at any time

What is Yepp?

Yepp digital subscriptions can be ordered via the Yettel app. The quick and straightforward contracting process includes the choice of a classic physical SIM card or, if supported by the subscriber’s device, an e-SIM, which can be installed in a few steps at the end of the purchase process and essentially works in the same as a traditional SIM, with the service being up and running in minutes.

Sep. 30,

the subscription is available at a discounted price of HUF 5,990 per month.

Banking, ordering food, shopping, or watching a movie, it seems ever more services are moving to mobile.

In Budapest and four other cities (the sizeable university towns of Debrecen, Győr, Pécs, and Szeged), Wolt couriers will deliver the card to your door within an hour. Nationwide MPL delivery is also available, which can be achieved on the next working day if ordered before 2 p.m., but the customer can also choose the delivery day from the options offered during the purchase.

Like streaming services, Yepp can be used without a loyalty period: the following month’s fee is deducted from the credit card

New Approach

“We are revolutionizing the telecoms market with a fundamentally new approach to digital subscription,” says Igor Prerovsky, CEO of Yettel Hungary.

“Our aim is to provide our customers with the greatest possible convenience and a superior digital experience, similar to the way fintech solutions have paved the way for a new way forward in the banking sector.

As a technical solution, Yepp also demonstrates the excellent skills of our local developers,” he continues.

“Our aim is to provide our customers with the greatest possible convenience and a superior digital experience, similar to the way fintech solutions have paved the way for a new way forward in the banking sector. As a technical solution, Yepp also demonstrates the excellent skills of our local developers.”

“Yepp now comes after the completion of a major phase of our more than two years-long complex network modernization project focused on customer experience, building on true 5G service,” Prerovsky adds.

A growing number of users want to do as many activities as possible digitally, via their mobile phones conveniently, quickly and flexibly, at any time, without visiting a shop or contacting a customer service representative.

Yettel says it has been shifting the focus of its digital customer service to the Yettel app, with features within a single app to make its customers’ everyday lives easier. And the direction of travel is clear: the number of monthly active users of the app has increased by 19% in the past year. The telco says Yepp was launched in the spirit of this digital transformation.

using the details provided at the time the contract was taken out, but the subscription can be canceled at any time and reactivated within six months at no extra cost. The basic tariff includes an unlimited data allowance and 50 GB per month of EU and zone one roaming data, as well as incoming calls and SMS.

Yepp customers pay for outgoing voice calls or SMS only when needed: they can personalize their subscription by deciding how many outgoing calls or SMS they will need according to their current

The significant modernization project the CEO references involved an investment of tens of billions of forints to renew its mobile network, increasing the capacity of its 4G nationwide coverage and enabling the deployment of state-of-the-art 5G technology.

Coverage continues to expand, with more than 900 base stations nationwide, most of them in the 3600 MHz C-band, which offers the best 5G capabilities.

The spread of 5G has also enabled the launch of services such as HomeNet and OfficeNet, mobile internet services for home and office use, and Yettel TV, which, despite its recent launch, already serves a national customer base in the hundreds of thousands.

needs. Additional voice minutes, SMS and roaming data can be bought in the Yettel app in one-off or renewable versions, which can be flexibly modified or canceled as needed: 50, 250 minutes, and unlimited packages for outgoing voice calls, and bundles of 50 for SMS messages.

Most subscription needs can be handled digitally from the Yettel app, including ordering extra services, making payments with a stored credit card, and contacting customer service via chat, available 24 hours.

Igor Prerovsky has been CEO of Yettel Hungary for just over a year, having taken on the role on July 18, 2023.

Employers, Employees Hoping for

a Better World Economy

Summer in Hungary brought not just hot weather but also good news for consumers: while analysts had forecast 3.9% inflation, prices increased only by 3.7% year-on-year. Looking at other statistics, however, the good news ends there; purchasing power still seems to be a drag after several months of inflation north of 20% depleted household savings. As a result, consumers still struggle to reduce spending where they can.

One good example is vacations. If we take one week as the minimum period needed for relaxation, more than twothirds of Hungarians, 69%, said they do not plan to go for seven contiguous vacation days this year. Indeed, only 29% reported that they will definitely go on vacation or have already been.

Younger generations are more likely to spend on vacation; 45% of 18-25-year-olds said they will leave for at least seven days. As for the amount paid, most respondents, 24%, said they are budgeting between HUF 100,000 and HUF 300,000, while 26% preferred not to disclose the amount. Even that does not mean a carefree break, as only

17%

said they would not keep an eye on how much they spend and could buy anything they want.

In the case of auto sales, there is a clear and growing trend. By the end of May, about 368,000 cars had been sold in Hungary, 13% more than last year. With the slow improvement of the financial situation, it seems households

HR Matters

A monthly look at human resource issues in Hungary and the region

have started making auto purchases again, but of older and cheaper variants.

Almost two-thirds of the sold cars (61%) were at least 15 years old; onethird (37%) were at least 20 years old. The sales of new autos reached 51,605, a 9.5% growth compared to last year, according to data gathered by car seller website joautok.hu.

Housing Costs

While cars are not a vital necessity for living, housing most certainly is.

Quoting the Central Statistical Office (KSH), the Intrum debt collection company indicates that in Q4 2023, second-hand apartment prices in Hungary rose by an average of 2.6%, and new apartments by 11.5% year-on-year.

Budapest is ranked among the least affordable capital cities in the EU, with 11 years of average salary needed to purchase a 75 sqm apartment. In contrast, prices dropped significantly in some European countries compared to the

2022

peak,

driven chiefly by credit rates and monthly installment growth, especially in Germany.

In Hungary, most loans have fixed rates; consequently, there was no means to curb the real estate price growth. That is both good and bad news for Hungarian home buyers. The monthly installments do not change, but with real estate prices growing, monthly installments rise higher and higher. This results in less money left for other expenses or, put another way, lower solvency.

“The more money people spend on housing [installments] or downpayments [to buy or rent], the less money is

released into the economy. This causes a significant problem in Budapest, as spending on housing is among the highest in the European Union. This situation may be remedied with a major increase in incomes and a change in housing structure in Hungary,” Károly Deszpot, deputy CEO at Intrum, said. Other figures show a less dramatic picture, at least by age groups. The financial situation of the middle-aged population has improved in Hungary, according to research from K&H Secure Future. In one year, the proportion of those facing financial difficulties decreased from 34% to 26%, and those with sufficient income and occasional savings increased from 23% to 36%.

Middle-aged Improvement

Following the easing of the previously unfavorable economic environment, the slowdown of inflation, and the increase in real wages, middleaged people are in a more favorable financial situation, according to the Q2 results of the K&H research. Regionally, Budapest seems to be developing quickly economically; while last year, the GDP per capita in the Hungarian capital stood at 155% of the EU average, today, it has risen to 158%. Other areas in the country also show measurable, if slower, growth. However, at a national level, the situation is less bright. Based on data from Eurostat, the pan-EU statistical body, Hungary stood at 76%

GDP per capita of the EU average last year. Improvement depends on the performance of the world economy, Intrum says. If the improving trend

continues, the financial situation of Hungarian families may also stabilize in the next few quarters.

Many companies believe that artificial intelligence will boost efficiency and productivity in the world economy. Employees are less enthusiastic, however, and most feel they need AI knowledge to remain competitive in the market. Meanwhile, according to a survey by Intrum, Hungarians are less worried about AI compared to the citizens of some of their closest peers in the Visegrád Four countries. In Slovakia and the Czech Republic, 29% of the employees express AI-related concerns. Elsewhere in Europe, in Sweden, Greece and Italy, this rate is much higher at 38-39%. Hungary and the Netherlands are among the techno-optimists, with 17% and 16% respectively.

Spending on Groceries

Market research company GfK measured the amount of money spent per capita in the retail market in Hungary, recording a figure of EUR 4,572. This represents 70% of the European average of EUR 6,517. As expected, the highest purchasing power across the country is in the capital city, albeit it is still below the national average for Slovenia and Croatia. Bulgaria is roughly at the level of the poorest Hungarian county, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, which stands at 84% of the national average for money spent in retail.

BALÁZS BARABÁS

Photo by Andrzej Rostek

3 Special Report

FMCG

From Fridges and Live Fish to Tequila, Vegan Food and 30-minute Deliveries

Having opened its first Hungarian store in late 1996, British retail chain Tesco says it is working hard to adapt to ever-changing market conditions.

Today, it’s difficult to imagine the impact the opening of Tesco’s first hypermarket store had on Hungary. But Martin Coulam, one of the pioneering team set up to manage Tesco’s drive into Central Europe, was hands-on in the Pólus Center in District XV when it happened. He remembers it well.

“Pólus was the first big shopping center in all [of] Central Europe. Busloads were coming from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia for months, just coming to see it. It was such a novelty. People were queuing every morning just to get in. It was an amazing feeling,” he tells the Budapest Business Journal in an interview.

Coulam, having since worked in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Turkey and Asia, is now back as operations director for Tesco Hungary. Sitting in the staff room at the Fogarasi út store (Tesco’s second Hungarian outlet when it opened in 1997), he outlines the business model pursued at the time.

“When this store opened, the internet was still in its infancy; there was no online, there were no discounters [….] Spar was an emerging company, whereas it is now the second biggest retailer in Hungary. You had none of the ‘category killer’ retailers, no Media Markt, no Euronics, you had none of the big clothing brands, H&M and all these, they just weren’t here at the time,” he says.

Because of this, the early Tesco stores were “French-style hypermarkets” selling everything from TVs, car tires and fridges to live fish, encompassing a vast array of products.

“This store then would have stocked maybe 60,000 different items, whereas today it probably stocks 20,000,” says Coulam.

Inevitably, the market soon changed: perhaps a dozen or so foreign-owned competitors, including Cora, Auchan,

Kaisers and Julius Meinl, along with a handful of domestic rivals, were all vying for a slice of the general retail pie, while specialists in fields such as household appliances and auto parts moved in to supply their niche markets far better than an all-rounder like Tesco.

Pre-internet

“If you think back, 27 years ago, nobody bought a TV on the internet because it didn’t exist. Now, most TVs are sold online,” Coulam notes.

In the last decade, the expansion of discount retailers, including Aldi, Lidl and Penny, all focusing on high volumes and with a strictly limited range of goods, has further sharpened competition.

Tesco has not stood idly by among all this. Apart from expanding in brick-and-mortar stores, it was in the vanguard of offering online shopping in Hungary, launching its home delivery service in 2013.

It also tinkered with store layouts as competitors ate into specific markets. However, with the vast changes in offerings and demand, “We didn’t always reflect the space in the stores to the market change over the years,” Coulam admits.

“So we took a decision, probably four years go, that we would really tackle the space and modernize the store to the space that we needed to operate effectively and to refresh the brand at the same time.”

While the renewal would encompass all outlets, the change is most apparent at the larger stores, such as that at Fogarasi út, where significant areas in the original “big box” store have been taken over by specialist retailers such as Rossmann, Euronics and Fressnapf.

“What this has allowed us to do is stay out of markets that we don’t want to be in, but also to bring those markets to the customers, within the store, so it’s more reasons to come to Tesco,” Coulam argues.

Managing Renewal and Counting the Cost

Since beginning a program in 2022, Tesco has renewed 45 of its hypermarkets, renovated all 50 of its supermarkets and “about 30” of its Express stores. However, such a large-scale project comes at a cost, especially for the biggest stores.

“There are two things which limit the speed you do this; one is the capex and the other is the disruption. We work hard to manage the disruption, how we do the change, and how we

communicate this to customers during and afterwards,” says Tesco’s Coulam. He puts the average capex for renewal at HUF 200 million, although this can jump significantly if the entire refrigeration system needs replacing. This pushed that investment towards HUF 250 million. Tesco closely monitors work and its effect on footfall to limit the loss to 1-3% of normal turnover.

“If you shop here, you can go to the Post Office, if you want a TV, you can buy a TV. You can buy your make-up in Rossmann, [.…] your specialist pet food in Fressnapf, and, in a minute, Diego will open, so you’ll be able to buy carpets and your wooden floor for home,” Coulam enthuses. “You can even charge your [electric] car in the car park.”

Full Circle

In effect, he says, “Hypermarkets have come full circle. They’ve become exciting again since we’re bringing back their power, which is to do everything you want in one location. But whereas, 27 years ago, it was us doing it all, today it’s not all us.”

This is not to say that the renewal program means outsourcing all but groceries to specialists. Coulam is keen to stress the importance of the in-house segments, including books, the F&F clothing range and home furnishings.

“We’ve got a great home department, kitchenware, tableware, bed linen and the like. That’s definitely worth staying in, and it’s a real growing market for us,” he says.

The renewal also reflects the modern emphasis on diet, with vegan and health foods, such as gluten- and lactose-free, given more prominence, a vital move given that 50% of Hungarians have dietary restrictions. Segments like beverages have also changed and expanded to keep abreast of modern trends.

“We didn’t have energy drinks 27 years ago; that’s now massive. Alcohol has become bigger, more sophisticated. If you think about spirits, in

1996,

this would mean vodka, rum, pálinka and whisky,” he recalls. “Now you’ve got a million different types of gin, tequila and much more sophisticated drinks.”

Even the “modern” online service has been renewed; Tesco now works with Foodora and Wolt in nearly 100 stores to deliver in 30 minutes or less.

“This on-demand model is growing exponentially,” Coulam observes, “the generations coming want delivery within the hour.”

Once renewal is complete, recovery can take 6-12 months before growth sets in. But it can also be immediate.

“Some stores go positive from the day it starts. If you take a store that hasn’t seen a lot of investment for many years, because this is a massive step, customers instantly respond. For others, it’s less of a change, and the response is slower,” Coulam says.

After the recovery, additional growth has been “anything between 0-10%, depending on the impact in the location and how the whole site develops,” he says.

Martin Coulam

GKid E-tail Rankings Shed Light on Evolving Market Landscape

Since 2015, GKid has publicly ranked the online merchants operating in the Hungarian market and generating the most turnover. This year, the e-commerce research and consultancy company, in cooperation with Mastercard, has compiled four thematic rankings.

BENCE GAÁL

Kifli topped GKid’s FMCG ranking for the second year in a row as the online shopping service with the highest turnover in the Hungarian market. Tesco was again the runner-up in the FMCG Top 10, while Auchan’s online store came third.

“We are very grateful to our customers for their trust, loyalty, and support, which have brought us this far and inspire us every day at Kifli.hu,” comments Gabriel Makki, CEO of Kifli.hu.

“We build on trust: our customers trust us to work with the best producers to bring consistently high-quality food to their tables, and we continue to deliver on that promise. We are committed to continually improving and expanding our services to provide easy access to high-quality food at good prices,” he adds.

There were no changes at the top of two more rankings: the bestknown and the highest turnovergenerating companies. eMAG is still Hungary’s most well-known and largest online store, while Alza. hu is now second placed in both. Kifli was ranked third overall.

“We are honored to be the number one retailer on eTOPLISTA again this year, for the 5th consecutive year. In a challenging year, this achievement is due to both the trust of our customers and the hard work of our colleagues,” says Kinga Daradics, managing director of eMAG Hungary.

The 15 largest online retailers in Hungary based on turnover

“In 2023, it was a conscious move on our part to continue to build on our growth in a difficult economic environment and changing shopping habits. In the past year, we have focused a significant part of our resources on strengthening our Marketplace platform, which now offers more than 12 million products on eMAG,” she adds.

Ákos Forrás and Csaba Takács, the two managing directors of Alza Hungary, note that “one of the most important pillars of a successful business is to improve the quality of our services continuously and to listen to our customers’ wishes.”

‘Revolutionary’ Service

The pair add that, in 2023, “We introduced a revolutionary new service: ‘Order by midnight, find it in the AlzaBox in the morning.’ Orders placed before midnight will be delivered to an AlzaBox by the next morning, seven days a week, including Saturdays and Sundays, and from 2023, our customers are also able to use our vending machines to return parcels.”

Euronics topped the list of biggest Hungarian-owned online retailers for the third year in a row, ahead of Aqua, which, in making a significant leap forward, managed to close in on the leader last year. Pepita is now the third-largest Hungarian-owned e-tailer.

In 2023, the combined turnover of the 15 largest e-tailers with local operations was HUF 542.5 billion gross, a 4% decrease compared

program, and more are introducing electronic payment solutions and parcel pick-up to serve customers even more competitively,” Szetnics adds.

Balanced FMCG

The 10 largest online FMCG retailers ended a more balanced year in 2023. Only one player declined in 2023, with an average annual growth rate of 36% among those that expanded. The Top 10 FMCG retailers had a combined gross online turnover of HUF 124.6 bln in 2023, an increase of 25% in one year.

“We build on trust: our customers trust us to work with the best producers to bring consistently high-quality food to their tables, and we continue to deliver on that promise.”

to 2022. The composition of the field in 2023 was entirely the same as 12 months earlier.

The picture was modestly more favorable in terms of successful (in other words, completed) orders, where the 15 largest online retailers have achieved a 2% year-on-year increase.

Six of the top 15 e-tailers saw their online sales fall in 2023, while nine recorded an increase; five of those grew at a rate above the annual average inflation rate (17.6%). The average growth rate of the nine merchants that ended last year with expansion was

almost double that of the overall market, which was 8.5% in 2023, according to GKID and Mastercard Digital Retail Landscape research.

“This year, the eTOPLISTA 2023 field has seen more movement and changes than in any previous year, which indicates how turbulent and complex the market environment is for e-retailers operating in Hungary,” says László Szetnics, regional head of digital services and products at Mastercard.

“Under such circumstances, the quality of the customer experience and the added value that can be added to increase customer loyalty is becoming more important. It is no coincidence that five merchants in the field, including the top three, already have a subscription loyalty

While Kifli is becoming increasingly dominant in the domestic online fastmoving consumer goods market, as confirmed by its third place in the overall field, the other players in the FMCG segment have no reason to complain: the leaders in the drugstore category, Rossmann and DM, produced outstanding growth in 2023, even exceeding Kifli.

In terms of average purchase value, the most significant growth was seen at Wolt Market and Foodora Market, both fast-food retailers with average order values up spectacularly in 2023 compared to 2022.

The Hungarian-owned companies with online retail sales of more than HUF 5 bln gross still only number 13 e-retailers. The fact that the size of this group has not expanded further in 2023 is in itself an indication of the challenging market conditions, GKid says.

The combined turnover of the 13 largest Hungarian e-retailers in 2023 was HUF 156.8 bln, an increase of just under 1% compared to the previous year.

GKid also compiled a ranking of e-tailers based on how wellknown they are. The top two in this ranking, eMAG and Alza - are the same as the top two in the turnover ranking, but Temu has now moved up to third place, indicating the impact of the Chinese giant on the Hungarian e-commerce market.

Among the 15 best-known retailers, Temu is joined by Shein and Aliexpress, alongside fashion and beauty retailers such as About You, Bonprix, H&M, eCipő and Notino. The three largest Hungarianowned online retailers are also among the 15 best-known e-tailers: Pepita is sixth, Aqua is 14th, and Euronics is 15th.

Coop Hungary: A Local Giant With a Plan

With a dominant presence in Hungary, retailer Coop has managed to maintain stability even amidst steeply dropping real wages. The domestic giant says it aims to keep it that way by building on Hungarian products, offering auxiliary services to people living in smaller settlements, and harnessing the power of digitalization.

Located right along the northwestern city borders of the capital, Üröm ranks among the top three places by purchasing power parity per capita in Hungary year after year. Regardless of the abundance of folks with solid finances, it is the market-leading German discount food chain Lidl’s store draws most of the traffic. Its packed parking lot contrasts starkly with that of the local Coop unit, which apparently serves only a fraction of its rival’s customers. The two stores are just a few hundred meters apart.

Yet, the picture is much more nuanced if you look at the nationwide figures. As shown by the latest data published by Trade Magazin, although Lidl clearly leads the pack, Coop Group is the fourth-largest FMCG chain in the country in terms of revenue. The HUF 830 billion turnover in 2023 puts the 100% Hungarian-owned company just slightly behind Tesco.

Coop can also pride itself on having the broadest national presence thanks to its 2,150 stores in 1,450 dwellings nationwide. Even its slogan refers to being a “good

neighbor.” Occasional sluggish sales at any given unit are compensated by the sweeping performance of just a handful of franchise members.

The five biggest operations account for

of the total revenue.

As Coop Hungary Zrt. CEO Géza Tóth says last year was characterized by a constantly changing, hardto-predict economic climate that posed a continuous challenge to the entire sector. It is worth recalling that 2023 saw 17% inflation while wages grew by just 11%. That drop in real wages of 6.5% ended up being the largest in the entire CEE region. Against this backdrop, Coop maintained a stability that was manifested in a 10% revenue increase,

Sniping From the Fringes in Wage War

From time to time, bombastic news hits the headlines about how certain discount chains strive to lure people with substantial salaries and bonuses. Oftentimes we are talking about attractive figures by Hungarian standards, which raises a question about the extent to which the competition is ready to keep up with such offers. As Coop tells the Budapest Business Journal ,

franchise partners have discretion over wage issues, thus they are solely responsible for complying with relevant regulations. The larger ones offer a career path model for Coop employees, and the company also seeks to retain its roughly 16,000 employees through fringe and individual benefits as well as the funding of vocational training opportunities.

Self-checkout is another path Coop has decided to follow. For now, 12 units offer the service. The power of online orders is harnessed as well. Partnerships with leading delivery services like Wolt help customers get their shipments, a service that is expanding across the country. Coop further considers pushing local products as a priority.

“We do everything in our power to keep up with our customers’ changing needs, and we will continue to build upon Hungarian products and sustainable practices. After all, we lay the groundwork of the future of retail with the developments we carry out today.”

year-on-year. Recent macroeconomic developments have helped keep up the effort: in May, sales in food-like mixed retail were up 6.8% compared to the year before.

However, one of Coop’s key weapons, widespread coverage, would be toothless unless coupled with strategic development.

Store Developments

“A large-scale store development program was completed last year whereby HUF 12 bln was spent to renew 461 facilities,” Tóth highlights. “The investment boosted by the government’s Hungarian Village funds improved the lives of 450,000 citizens residing in small places.”

In parallel, Coop customers now have access to postal services in 91 dwellings, and a range of nine nonprescription medicines can also be purchased. Coop stores further offer the comfort of picking up non-food online orders at 590 package delivery machines. The deal is sweetened further for regular Coop customers who can enjoy a discount of HUF 300 to HUF 500 on every Foxpost or Paketa order. Regardless of population sizes, the company is betting heavily on going digital. The Coop Club membership has been available via mobile for three years; therefore, loyalty discounts, special offers and vouchers can be used digitally. The number of regular customers is well over one million today, with ever more using the club app.

“The ratio of Hungarian products is over 80% in our case,” Tóth notes. “As far as fresh goods such as meat, poultry or locally grown fruits and vegetables are concerned, the rate is even higher.” In addition, an annual initiative called the Coop Rally engages industry stakeholders to showcase innovations that enhance the reputation of Hungarian producers and goods. “We do everything in our power to keep up with our customers’ changing needs, and we will continue to build upon Hungarian products and sustainable practices,” Tóth insists. “After all, we lay the groundwork of the future of retail with the developments we carry out today.”

Are Sectoral Taxes a Double Standard?

FMCG retail has been suffering from a special Hungarian sectoral tax since 2020. However, the 4.5% revenue-based rate appears to target foreign-owned chains disproportionally: Hungarian competitors operating under a franchise scheme often pay between nothing and 1% in extra tax. The issue was criticized by the European Commission in its country report in 2023. In the meantime, Spar has filed a complaint for discrimination and a breach of EU law. The Austrian company complains that it ended up in the red due to a special levy amounting to HUF 29.1 bln last year, without which a profit would have been realized. Aldi is in a similar situation. Penny and Auchan managed to be profitable regardless. Hungarian competitors such as CBA or Reál do not publish any relevant information. Coop, for that matter, did not wish to share sectoral tax-related details when asked, either.

Géza Tóth, CEO of Coop Hungary Zrt.

Aldi Putting Smiles on the Faces of 100s of Kids

Aldi Hungary has provided further support for Hungarian children, the Germanowned retail chain announced in July. In the spring of this year, the company made donations from its own-brand range of children’s toys to 21 kindergartens and social institutions in 13 municipalities nationwide, from the capital to the county seats and even down to villages with a population of 2,000.

BBJ STAFF

The retailer says it “pays special attention to social responsibility, for which social commitment is not an obligation but a matter of the heart.” It says it focuses simultaneously on the broadest

possible cross-sections of society while also paying great attention to supporting local communities.

The company uses its opportunities to make the everyday lives of institutions and communities easier and more playful through donations and educational campaigns. For young children, the most fundamental way to learn is through play, hence the donation of toys worth HUF 3.3 million.

“Aldi has contributed to an aesthetic and inspiring environment for children’s development by

Heat Heralds Earlier, Longer Hungarian Melon Season

Hungarian produce from three areas, Békés, Tolna and Szabolcs-SzatmárBereg counties, became available in Aldi’s Hungarian stores two weeks earlier than usual thanks to the hot weather, the retailer says.

Sárgadinnye , or yellow mellon, arrived at the supermarket warehouse on June 12, while the görögdinnye , or watermelons, were available from June 21. Weather permitting, the crops are expected to be available until mid-September. Thanks to continuously updating existing store stocks, Aldi says it will supply Hungarian consumers exclusively with Hungarian melons. This move will increase the proportion of domestically sourced fruit and vegetables in the discount chain’s stores.

This year, Aldi offers two types of yellow melon: the classic orangefleshed cantaloupe for those who prefer traditional flavors

and the white-fleshed gália. Both were available in the last week of June instead of the more usual midJuly. Watermelon lovers will also have two varieties to choose from: the traditional dark green-skinned, red-fleshed watermelon remains the most popular, but a seedless variety will also be available.

“At Aldi, we have always favored Hungarian sourcing so consumers can access delicious and controlled quality fresh produce. This year, we can extend the season of Hungarian melons by up to a month: consumers can enjoy up to 100 days of domestically sourced fruit in our stores. Since our opening in Hungary, we have sold around 28,000 tonnes of domestic melons, providing a stable domestic market and a predictable partnership for Hungarian producers,” said Bernhard Haider, country managing director of Aldi Hungary.

providing outdoor and indoor toys and equipment, giving them many playful moments from Carnival to Christmas, bringing a big smile to the faces of nearly 600

kindergarten children and those served by these institutions nationwide,” the company said in a press statement.

In another unrelated piece of Aldi ESG news, the discount supermarket won a special prize from the jury of the second Greengage competition, organized by PPH Media. The award recognizes the best marketing communication projects and technical and business decisions taken in the interests of environmentally responsible operations.

Reducing Plastic Bottles

This year, 19 entries were shortlisted, including four from Aldi. One was a program of water filters installed in all Aldi’s stores in the country, which will reduce the number of plastic bottles produced by 800,000 per year and ensure that employees can continue to drink hygienic filtered tap water.

A second project focused on the supermarket chain’s logistics with folding crates and pallet rental, which allows the elimination of oneway packaging. The third program is creating “insect hotels” in seven municipalities across the country, enlisting the help of experts and young schoolchildren to provide a specific environment for pollinators.

Aldi’s final entry was a comprehensive package of sustainability measures, including the installation of solar panels and used cooking oil collection points, the use of natural refrigerants, and the development of an e-charging network.

About Aldi Hungary

Aldi’s Hungarian operation, officially known as Aldi Magyarország Élelmiszer Bt., opened its first shop in Hungary in 2008 and currently has a network of 176 stores.

Aldi powers its logistics center in Biatorbágy (22km west of central Budapest by road) and the stores it owns with green electricity. Last year, the company was named the “Fresh Meat Retailer of the Year” for its fresh meat range, the “FMCG Retail Employer of the Year” for the jobs it creates and its welfare measures, and the “Nébih Special Award for the Shop of the Year” for the large number of its products that have been awarded the High-Quality Food trademark.

Aldi Hungary also won the “Reliable Employer” prize from the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce for the fourth time.

In presenting its special award to Aldi Hungary, the Greengage jury said it is clear from its entries that sustainability measures are not stand-alone projects but part of a comprehensive corporate ESG strategy at the retailer.

Also held for the second time this year was the “Private Label Product of the Year 2024” competition. In the tests carried out at the Bálint Analytika laboratory, Aldi’s products won the most prizes again: 12 this year, following eight in 2023.

From left: Dóra Lócsi, quality assurance and sustainability manager at Aldi Hungary; Jusztina Jáger, director of strategic planning and sustainability; and Attila Pákolicz, managing partner at Solutions Communications, Aldi’s PR firm, at the Greengage awards ceremony.

Photo by Anna Gyurkovics / PPH

Penny’s Private-label Range Wins 7 Awards

Discount retailer

Penny Hungary’s everexpanding range of private-label products has undergone major changes. Along with a significant rebranding of the stores, the awardwinning assortment has also been renewed, returning to the shelves with a modern look.

The products, which have won numerous awards in the past, have once again received recognition in a major retail sector competition, scooping the “Private Label Product of the Year” award in seven categories.

Penny’s range of private-label products has grown to 25 brands and nearly 1,500 products, accounting for half of the total assortment. In addition to new packaging adapted to match the renewed store image, the retailer has extended its convenience and healthy range of freefrom, vegan and organic products.

The company says the brands offer consumers an excellent valuefor-money alternative. Increased sales demonstrate the growing popularity of quality and affordable products among its consumers.

Penny’s range of convenience products has always been a firm favorite with consumers. This year, they have also achieved professional recognition: No fewer than seven products won the “Product of the Year” title in their respective categories.

Prizes were also awarded to what the discounter calls its “delicious supporters of busy weekdays,” namely Penny To Go Mozzarella Pizza and Penny To Go Chicken Soup, and the hit product of the sustainable range, Food For Future Vegan Crispy Sticks.

Energy Consumption Reduced by 10% Over 2 Years

Since 2018, the discount food chain has been working to increase its energy efficiency and reduce its ecological footprint. Almost six years ago, the company introduced the ISO 50001 energy management system into its dayto-day operations, which supports the company’s energy-conscious operations in addition to seeking ongoing improvements.

Penny says it has installed solarpanels at 48 stores and two of the logistics centers and installed heat pump systems in 44 shops. In addition, it has incorporated a number of environmentally conscious elements into its renewed corporate identity to improve the energy efficiency of its buildings, such as optimized cooling temperatures and LED lights.

Thanks to these measures, Penny says it has reduced its overall energy consumption by almost 10% over the past two years, bringing the company closer to achieving its sustainability goals, including climate neutrality, as committed to in the ISO 50001 energy efficiency scheme.

The parent company of the retail chain, Rewe Group, a diversified retail and tourism cooperative based in Cologne, Germany, has a robust climate strategy plan, committing itself to the sciencebased climate targets of the Paris Climate Agreement’s 1.5°C commitment and to achieving total carbon neutrality by 2050. To this end, the group is actively working in a number of areas, including energy efficiency, to put the commercial sector on a path to a sustainable future for the next generation.

Children’s favorites Ice Cream Monster and Dinosaur Nuggets were also hits at the competition.

Meeting Changing Needs

“We are constantly working to ensure that we can offer our customers a range that meets their changing needs, as their positive feedback is of paramount importance to us,” says Eszter Kazatsay, head of communications at Penny Hungary.

“Their feedback is the very basis on which we continue to develop and expand our own-brand range. We are delighted that the awards we have won help us to raise awareness of the value and reliable quality of our private label products,” she adds.

It isn’t only the products it sells that have been winning the retailer praise. Penny was presented with a Reliable Employer Award by the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce for the fourth year running in May.

The title aims to raise awareness of the importance of workplace conditions, and the nominees are required to meet criteria across several areas of human resource management. They must also demonstrate that they provide exemplary care for their staff’s working and living conditions.

“It is important for us to build good relationships with our employees who feel appreciated for their work. We are constantly working to create an environment for our employees to feel comfortable with us for the long term. Supporting our employees and investing in their career development is paying off, so it’s a great recognition and affirmation that we have won this award for the fourth time, as it shows that we are on the right track,” said Silke Janz, CFO responsible for HR.

About Penny

Penny Market Ltd. has been operating in Hungary since 1996. The chain currently operates 233 stores and three logistics centers and employs more than 5,000 people. In April, Penny opened its 29th Budapest store in the immediate vicinity of Nyugati Pályaudvar (the Western Railway Station). The newest unit offers the retailer’s modern rebranded look, providing a convenient shopping experience for residents, commuters and tourists alike. Located at 30 Szent István körút, one of Budapest’s central locations, the store gives permanent and stable employment to 22 people. The company says its mission is to provide customers with the freshest and best value for money products nationwide, including high-quality private label and Hungarian Product trademarked goods. Penny places particular emphasis on close commercial relations with Hungarian suppliers. And it continues to support the development of the Hungarian economy through new investments and expansion. The chain has also been committed to environmental and social responsibility since the beginning, working with NGOs whose primary goal is to help and support Hungarian people and families.

From left, Eszter Kazatsay, head of corporate communications; Lilla Tóth, own brand manager; and Csilla Tatár, own brand team lead at Penny.

September Management Change at Lidl Hungary

There is to be a significant management change at Lidl Hungary in September, the firm has announced, with the current chairman of the board of directors, Jenő Grósz, to be appointed to the position of regional director from September 2024, with responsibility for several countries.

successes I have achieved so far and add new ones to the satisfaction of our customers and colleagues.”

Founded in Germany in the 1930s, Lidl is one of the fastest-growing grocery chains in Hungary. It opened its first logistics center and 12 stores here in 2004; today, it has 207 stores and more than 9,000 employees nationwide.

Grósz started his career at Lidl Hungary in 2004 and has been leading the company as its chairman for 13 years. He will be succeeded in that role by Zita Szlavikovics from Sep. 1.

Currently the chairman of the board of directors of Lidl Slovakia, Szlavikovics has been with the retail chain since 2007. During that time, she worked for 11 years at Lidl Hungary and gained extensive international experience through her leadership positions in several countries.

Regarding the upcoming promotion, Grósz commented: “I am delighted to take on this extremely challenging new role, as development is not only a company’s imperative but also that of all colleagues, myself included.”

He added, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers, all our colleagues and partners for

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20 years of work, experience and support, without which neither Lidl Hungary nor I could have reached the position we have together. I wish Zita every success in leading Lidl Hungary.”

For her part, Szlavikovics said, “I will certainly strive to build on the

Since its entry into the local market in the same year Hungary joined the EU, Lidl has been growing steadily, not only in the discount segment but also in terms of turnover; it claims it has the most dynamic growth among food retail chains.

The company insists it pays particular attention to Hungarian suppliers to support and develop the local economy, sourcing nearly 60% of its products domestically. Lidl Hungary was awarded a Top Employer Hungary rating in 2023.

Sustainability Partnership

Elsewhere, Lidl and WWF, one of the world’s largest independent conservation organizations, have announced a fiveyear international strategic partnership spanning 31 countries, including Hungary.

The long-term partnership will focus on working together across Lidl’s value chain to help address global ecological challenges and bring more sustainable choices to more households.

“As one of the largest food retailers in Europe, we are aware of our responsibility and influence,” says Judit Tőzsér, head of corporate communications at Lidl Hungary. “For Lidl, sustainability is not just a matter of attitude; it is also the basis for the future viability of our business model. With WWF’s support and expertise, we are now taking our commitment to sustainability to a higher level,” she adds. “Only by working together can we tackle major global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. That is why we rely on this strong partnership to offer our customers more sustainable choices every day,” Tőzsér concludes.

Jenő Grósz will become a regional director, responsible for several countries.

Zita Szlavikovics will take over as chairman of the board of Lidl Hungary in September.

Largest Shopping Centers in Hungary

1 ÁRKÁD ÖRS VEZÉR TERE BEVÁSÁRLÓKÖZPONT www.arkadbudapest.hu ECE Projektmanagement Budapest Kft. 1106 Budapest, Örs vezér tere 25/A (1) 434-8200, (1) 434-8207 www.ece.com

2 ARENA MALL www.arenamall.hu

3 KÖKI TERMINÁL https://kokibevasarlokozpont.hu/

4 MAMMUT BEVÁSÁRLÓ- ÉS SZÓRAKOZTATÓ KÖZPONT www.mammut.hu

5 ETELE PLAZA https://eteleplaza.hu/

CBRE Kft. 1055 Budapest, Bajcsy-Zsilinszky út 78. (1) 374-3040 www.cbre.hu

Cushman & Wakefield Kft. 1052 Budapest, Deák Ferenc utca 5. +36 (1) 268-1288 www.cushmanwakefield.com

Cushman & Wakefield Kft. 1055 Budapest, Deák Ferenc u. 5. (1) 266-1288, (1) 266-1289 www.cushmanwakefield.com

Futureal Management Kft. 1082 Budapest, Futó u. 47. (1) 266-2181 www.futurealgroup.com

6 PÓLUS CENTER BEVÁSÁRLÓKÖZPONT https://polus-center.hu CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

6 SAVOYA PARK www.savoyapark.hu

8 WESTEND BEVÁSÁRLÓKÖZPONT www.westend.hu

Forum Savoya Park Kft. CATINVEST SA. 1117 Budapest, Hunyadi János út 19. 19-21 Primaverii Bd., 2nd floor, sector 1., Bucharest

Westend Ingatlanhasznosító és Üzemeltető Kft. 1062 Budapest, Váci út 1–3. (1) 374-6500 www.westend.hu

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10 MARKET CENTRAL FERIHEGY www.marketcentral.hu

11

White Star Real Estate Kft. 1124 Budapest, Csörsz utca 49–51. (1) 382-5100 www.whitestar-realestate.com

CAMPONA BEVÁSÁRLÓ- ÉS SZÓRAKOZTATÓKÖZPONT www.campona.hu CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225- 6600 www.cpigroup.hu

Van Graaf, C&A, Zara, Hervis, Bershka, Media Markt, New Yorker, Interspar, Reserved, Libri, Douglas, Sinsay, CCC, Deichmann, Müller, dm, Mango, Stradivarius

Peek & Cloppenburg, Media Markt, Sports Direct, Zara, Zara Home, H&M, H&M Home, Bonami, Dutch Home, BOSS, Bershka, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius, Libri, Michael Kors, CCC, Humanic

Bershka, Bijou Brigitte, Borkutime, Budmil, Burger King, C&A, CCC, Claire's, Cropp, Deichmann, DinoPark, dm, Douglas, Euronics, Flashkart Gokart, Flying Tiger, H&M, Háda, Hervis, House, KFC, KIK, Libri, Miniso, New Yorker, OBI, Ofotért, Optic World, OTP Bank, Pepco, Pirex, Pizza Hut, Playersroom, Pull&Bear, Régió Játék, Reserved, Retro Jeans, Rossmann, Schmuck Ékszer, Sebastiano, Sinsay, Sportsdirect, Stradivarius, Swarovski, Telekom, TESCO, Triumph, Vodafone, Yettel, Yves Rocher

Match, Hervis, Media Markt, Mammut Bowling, UPC, Posta, Cinema City, Mango, Spriengfield, Starbucks, Salamander, Humanic, Douglas, Deichmann, Promod, Marks and Spencer, McDonald’s, Benetton, Esprit, Libri, Alexandra, Okay Italia, Bershka, Butlers, Mammut Egészségközpont, Euromedic, Bio Sétány, Lite Wellness Club, Burger King, Nordsee

1106 Budapest, Örs vezér tere 25/A (1) 433-1400 info@arkadbudapest.hu

1087 Budapest, Kerepesi út 9. (1) 880-7010 info@arenamall.hu

1191 Budapest, Vak Bottyán utca 75/A–C ép. (1) 919-1300 info@kokiterminal.hu

1024 Budapest, Lövőház utca 2–6. (1) 345-8000 mammut@mammut.hu

1119 Budapest, Hadak útja 1. (70) 652-0000 info@futureal.hu

C&A, CCC, Deichmann, dm, H&M, Orsay, Hervis, Humanic, Libri, Media Markt, New Yorker, Pólus Mozi, Reserved, SportsDirect, Starbucks, Tesco, Marionnaud, Pepco, KIK, Regio Játék, Rossmann

Auchan, OBI, Möbelix, ALDI, Euronics, TEDI, KIK, Pepco, Deichmann, Fressnapf, DM, Rossmann, Sport Factory, BUDMIL, Vision Express, HADA, OTP, Raiffeisen, Pirex, Líra, Café Frei, Belfrit, Fitness 5, Funxional Gym, Triumph, Biohair, Brandt Virág

Balázs Kicks, Bamba Marha Burger, Bellozzo, Bershka, Bijou Brigitte, Buddha Original, Burger King, Cafe Frei, Calvin Klein Jeans, Calzedonia, CCC, Cinema City-4DX, Converse, Columbia, Crocs, Deichmann, Desigual, dm, Douglas, Ecco, Foot Locker, Gant, GAS Jeans, G-Star Raw & Replay, Guess Jeans, H&M, Helly Hansen, Hervis, Hisztéria, Hugo Boss, Humanic, Inglot, Intimissimi, Intimissimi Uomo, iSTYLE, Kazar, KFC, Kreatív Hobby, L’Occitane en Provence, LEGO, Levi’s, Libri, Lindt, LUSH, MAC, Mango, Marionnaud, Massimo Dutti, McDonald’s, Media Markt, Mesopotamia, Nespresso, New Yorker, NIKE Budapest, Nordsee, Office Shoes, Ofotért, Okay Italia, Pandora, Parfois, Pirex Papír, Pizza Hut, PULL&BEAR, PUPA Milano, Retro Jeans, Ribster, Rossmann, Samsonite Store, Samsung Experience Store, Sizeer, Skechers, Sloggi, Sony, SPAR, Springfield, Starbucks, Stradivarius, Swarovski, Tchibo, TEILOR, Tejmadár, Tefal, Tezenis, The Body Shop, Thomas Breitling, Tisza Cipő, Tommy Hilfiger, Triumph, Under Armour, United Colors of Benetton, Vans, Vapiano, Vision Express, Westend Leroy, Wittchen, Women’secret, Yves Rocher, ZARA

Bamba Marha, Banana Moon, Bellozzo, Best Byte, budmil, Burger King, C&A, Cinema City, Cafe Frei, Calzedonia, Cserpes Tejivó, Deichmann, dm, Douglas, Ecco, Flying Tiger Copenhagen, Greenhabit, H&M, Helly Hansen, Humanic, iCenter, Intimissimi, Intersport, Interspar, Jysk, LEGO, Levi’s, Life1 Fitness, Lindt, L’Occitane, Mango, Mohito, Nespresso, New Yorker, Libri, Pandora, Padthai Wokbar, Parfois, Planet Sushi, Pull&Bear, Pupa Milano, Reserved, Samsonite, Samsung Experience Store, Skechers, Springfield, Starbucks, Swarovski, Tamaris, Tatuum, Tezenis, Triumph, Van Graaf, Vision Express, Women’Secret, Zara, Zing Burger

Tesco, Praktiker, Euronics, CCC, Internsport, C&A, H&M, Müller, DM, Jysk, Fressnapf, Starbucks, Burger King

Tropicarium, Cinema City, Reserved, H&M, Sinsay, Cropp, House, New Yorker, C&A, Intimissimi/Calzedonia, Libri, Douglas, Marionnaud, Deichmann, CCC, Regio Játék, JYSK, Sports Direct, Sportisimo, Pepco, Kik, TEDi, Rossmann, dm, Cafe Frei

1152 Budapest, Szentmihályi út 131. (1) 910-5914 polus@cpipg.com

1117 Budapest, Hunyadi János út 19. (1) 887-1330 office@savoyapark.hu

1062 Budapest, Váci út 1–3. (1) 238-7777 info@westend.hu

1117 Budapest, Október huszonharmadika utca 8–10. (1) 372-7208 info@allee.hu

2220 Vecsés, Fő út 246–248. (29) 351-802 info@marketcentral.hu

1222 Budapest, Nagytétényi út 37–43. (1) 424-3000 info@campona.hu

12

13 CORVIN PLAZA www.corvinplaza.hu

14

LURDY HÁZ BEVÁSÁRLÓ- ÉS IRODACENTRUM www.lurdyhaz.hu

Lurdy-Ház Kft. 1097 Budapest, Könyves Kálmán krt. 12–14. (1) 456-1200, (1) 456-1209 www.lurdyhaz.hu

15

17 MALOMPARK BEVÁSÁRLÓKÖZPONT www.malompark.hu

18 GOBUDAMALL https://gobudamall.hu/

Malompark Üzemeltető Kft. (52) 745-600

Magnum Hungaria Invest Kft. 1032 Budapest, Bécsi út 154.

19 SHOPMARK BEVÁSÁRLÓKÖZPONT www.shopmark.hu Grandum Ingatlankezelő Kft. 1134 Budapest, Kassák Lajos u. 19-25. (1) 888-4120 grandum.hu 24,000

CITYMARKET DUNAKESZI https://dunakeszi.citymarketgroup. hu/hu/ CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

21 CSABA CENTER BEVÁSÁRLÓ- ÉS SZÓRAKOZTATÓKÖZPONT www.csabacenter.hu

Csaba Center Invest Kft. 5600 Békéscsaba, Andrássy út 37–43. (66) 524-530, (66) 524-525 www.csabacenter.hu

22 MALOM KÖZPONT https://malomkecskemet.hu/ MILL Partner Ingatlanhasznosító Kft. 6000 Kecskemét, Korona u. 2. (76) 402-200

23 SUGÁR ÜZLETKÖZPONT www.sugar.hu

24 AGRIA PARK www.agriapark.hu

Székhely 2007 Kft. 1025 Budapest, Palatinus utca 1. (1) 487-3746

WPR Alfa Kft. 1095 Budapest, Máriássy u. 7. (36) 512-401, (36) 515-156 www.agriapark.hu

25 STOP SHOP VESZPRÉM https://stop-shop.com/hu/ magyarorszag/veszprem CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

26 SZEGED PLAZA www.szegedplaza.hu

27 DUNA CENTER www.dunacenter.com

INDOTEK GROUP 1133 Budapest, Váci út 110.

INDOTEK GROUP 1133 Budapest, Váci út 110.

CCC, Cinema City, Deichmann, H&M, Humanic, Intersport, Libri, KFC, LC Waikiki, McDonald’s, Media Markt, Reserved, Spar, Starbucks

Sinsay, C&A, Decathlon, Euronics, Hervis, H&M, Jysk, KFC, Müller, New Yorker, Reserved, Libri, Starbucks, Burger King

Aldi, Spar, Deichmann, CCC, Sinsay, Pepco, Kik, dm, Rossmann, Fressnapf, Líra, Scitec Gold Fitness Center, Boulder Academy, Lurdy mozi, Lurdy Rendezvényközpont, Krio Centrum, McDonalds, KFC, Belfrit, Fruitisimo, Frei Cafe, Mon Cremi, Wok n Go, Salad Box, Il treno, Lipóti Pékség, Fornetti, Office Depot, Saxoo London, Xiaomi, Barber House, Herba Forrás Biobolt, BioTechUsa, Scitec Nutrition, Dr. Lenkei Életerő Centrum, Balance, Benu gyógyszertár, OTP Bank, Unicredit Bank, Thai masszázs centrum, Gumiszervíz, Autómosó, Autókölcsönző, Szerencsejáték Zrt., Yettel, Synlab, Biolife plazmaközpont, Posta, Vodafone, Lili Rose, Merci&Fleur- virág/ajándék, Amplifon, The Miracle Secret Bracelet, Gold Boutique, Topclean, Térképbolt, Sharon, Perfect GMS, Optic world, Kalandpark Játszóház, Femme Hair

Spar, CCC, DM, Libri, Reserved, Müller, H&M, CINEMA MOM, Mohito, Butlers, Paulaner, Vapiano, Leroy, Spíler Buda, Gant, Karl Lagerfeld, Michael Kors, Furla, Liu Jo, Gerry Weber, Nubu, Helly Hansen

JYSK, Tesco, KIK, Deichmann, dm, OBI, Fressnapf

Interspar, Praktiker, Euronics, Magnet Divat, G4 Fitness, Háda, M.Posta, Plazma Központ, Malomparki Kispiac, Smart Diagnosztika

INTERSPAR, dm, KFC, Douglas, MOHITO, HOUSE, GOBUDA MOZI, GOBUDA Fitness Club, Pepco, Líra, Erste Bank, OTP Bank, MBH Bank, Wellensteyn, W.KRUK, Telekom, Yettel, DIGI, The Fishmonger, Café Frei, Stühmer Csokoládébolt és Cukrászda, Ofotért, Optic World

Interspar, Reserved, Media Markt, dm, Unicredit bank, telecom, OTP

–22,350 2 20

Möbelix, Calzedonia, Deichmann, KIK, Pepco, Office Depot, Kangaboo, dm, WalterLand, Ecofamily, Nike, Sport Factory, Fressnapf

Háda, Deichmann, CCC, C&A, Douglas, OTP Bank, Tally Weijl, Spar, Vodafone, Vision Express, Orsay, Unicredit Bank, Telekom, Telenor, New Yorker, dm, Devergo, Media Markt, Hervis, Invitel, Galaxy Játékáruház, Cosmos City, Alexandra, budmil, Playersroom, Center Mozi, Fun City Bowling Bár

H&M, New Yorker, Douglas, Starbucks, Deichmann, Hervis, Springfield, Takko, OTP és Provident Regionális központ, Calzedonia, Intimissimi, Triumph, Libri, DM, McDonald's, KFC, Pizzahut, Pepco, Régió Játék

Sugár Mozi, Sugár Fitness, Spar, Libri, Háda, EURONICS, Vodafone, Telenor, Unicredit Bank, Telekom, Raiffeisen Bank, Galaxy Játékáruház, CIB Bank, dm, SUGÁR Játszóház, SUGÁR Bowling & Pub, Magyar Posta, Extreme Digital, BÁV, Ofotért

Agria Mozi, C&A, CCC, Charles Vögele, Deichmann, dm, Expert, Hervis, KFC, Libri, New Yorker, OTP Bank, Pepco, Springfield, Unicredit Bank, Tesco

Interspar, Humanic, Takko, C&A, New Yorker, Fressnapf, dm, Intersport, Deichmann, KIK, Hervis, Pepco, Sinsay, Libri, House

Aldi, CCC, Cinema City, H&M, Libri, Pepco, Rossmann

ALDI, Brendon, Deichmann, DM, Intersport, Kik, Pepco, Sinsay

1138 Budapest, Váci út 178. (1) 465-1600 info@dunaplaza.hu

1082 Budapest, Futó utca 37–45. (1) 977-7779 info@corvinplaza.hu

1097 Budapest, Könyves Kálmán körút 12–14. (1) 456-1100 info@lurdyhaz.hu

1123 Budapest, Alkotás utca 53. (1) 487-5501 info@mompark.hu

6729 Szeged, Szabadkai út 7. (1) 920-2193 info@napfenypark.hu

4027 Debrecen, Füredi út 27. (52) 483-080 malompark@malompark.hu

1032 Budapest, Bécsi út 154. (70) 515-8403 info@gobudamall.hu

1191 Budapest, Üllői út 201. (20) 823-8645 cm@shopmark.hu

2120 Dunakeszi, Nádas utca 8. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

5600 Békéscsaba, Andrássy út 37–43. (66) 524-524 csabacenter@ csabacenter.hu

6000 Kecskemét, Korona utca 2. (76) 402-200 kecskemet@malom.hu

1148 Budapest, Örs vezér tere 24. (1) 469-5359 sugar@sugar.hu

3300 Eger, Törvényház utca 4. (36) 515-401 info@agriapark.hu

8200 Veszprém, Dornyai Béla utca 4. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

6724 Szeged, Kossuth Lajos sugárút 119. (30) 551-1034 info@szegedplaza.hu

9025 Győr, Csipkegyári utca 11. (96) 314-746 info@dunacenter.com

30 MISKOLC PLAZA www.miskolcplaza.hu

STOP SHOP ÓBUDA https://stop-shop.com/hu/ magyarorszag/budapest-obuda

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CITYMARKET SOROKSÁR

https://soroksar.citymarketgroup. hu/hu/

INDOTEK GROUP 1133 Budapest, Váci út 110.

CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

CCC, Cinema City, Deichmann, H&M, Half Price, KFC, Libri, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Reserved

Spar, Media Markt, C&A, Pearl Harbor restaurant & bowling, Mountex, Deichmann, dm, H&M, Fressnapf, Kangaboo, Libri

9024 Győr, Vasvári Pál utca 1/A (1) 577-1100 info@gyorplaza.hu

4400 Nyíregyháza, Nagy Imre tér 1. (42) 799-111 korzo@korzo.hu

3525 Miskolc, Szentpáli út 2–6. (1) 577-1100 info@miskolcplaza.hu

1032 Budapest, Bécsi út 136. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com 32

CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

STOP SHOP ÉRD

https://stop-shop.com/hu/ magyarorszag/erd

CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

Media Markt, Mountex, Brendon, Office Depot, Ecofamily, Líra, AzAlvásért, WalterLand, Gyerekcenter

Spar, CCC, McDonald’s, New Yorker, dm, Deichmann, KIK, Victory Fitness, Pepco, Takko, H&M

1231 Budapest, Bevásárló utca 8. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

2030 Érd, Budai út 13. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com 34

STOP SHOP DEBRECEN https://stop-shop.com/hu/ magyarorszag/debrecen

S-PARK KAPOSVÁR www.s-park-kaposvar.hu

CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

SES Magyarország Kft. 2060 Bicske, SPAR út www.ses-european.com

Müller, H&M, Kedvenc Szakáruház, Intersport, Kangaboo, Deichmann, New Yorker, Pepco, Takko, CCC, Sinsay

INTERSPAR, dm, Hervis, Deichmann, McDonald's, KIK, Pepco

4031 Debrecen, Kishatár út 34/B (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

7400 Kaposvár, Árpád út 20. –info@sparkkaposvar.hu 36

STOP SHOP GÖDÖLLŐ https://stop-shop.com/hu/ magyarorszag/goedoello CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

37 BUDAKESZI ZONE https://zonepark.hu

38 STOP SHOP SZOLNOK https://stop-shop.com/hu/ magyarorszag/szolnok

39 DUNAÚJVÁROS ZONE https://zonepark.hu/

40 SZOMBATHELY ZONE https://zonepark.hu/

ATQ Property Zrt. 1117 Budapest, Budafoki út 187–189. Szoboszlai Roland szoboszlai.roland@atq.hu (70) 773-2690

CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

ATQ Property Zrt. 1117 Budapest, Budafoki út 187–189. Szoboszlai Roland szoboszlai.roland@atq.hu (70) 773-2690

ATQ Property Zrt. 1117 Budapest, Budafoki út 187–189. Szoboszlai Roland szoboszlai.roland@atq.hu (70) 773-2690

Müller, C&A, Hervis, KFC, H&M, New Yorker, Fressnapf, dm, KIK, Euronics, Budmil

Deichmann, KIK, Müller, Pepco, Ecofamily, TESCO

2100 Gödöllő, Bossányi Krisztina utca 2. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

2092 Budakeszi, Bianka utca 1. ingatlan@diofaalapkezelo.hu

CCC, Pepco, Euronics, KIK, Deichmann, Takko, New Yorker, Fressnapf

Deichmann, KIK, Müller, Ecofamily, C&A, NewYorker, Fressnapf, Takko, Sportfactory

Deichmann, KIK, Sinsay, Pepco, Ecofamily, Fressnapf, Takko, Háda, Jysk

5000 Szolnok, Felső Szandai rét 3. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

2400 Dunaújváros, Kandó Kálmán tér 11. –ingatlan@diofaalapkezelo.hu

9700 Szombathely , Szent Gellért utca 66. –ingatlan@diofaalapkezelo.hu

EUROPEUM BEVÁSÁRLÓKÖZPONT www.europeum.hu

CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

STOP SHOP BÉKÉSCSABA https://stop-shop.com/hu/ magyarorszag/bekescsaba

Biotech USA, OTP Bank, Fresh Corner, K&H Bank, Müller, Pizza Me, Yves Rocher, Triumph, Pepco, Ofotért

1085 Budapest, Blaha Lujza tér 3–5. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

5600 Békéscsaba, Szarvasi út 68. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com NR

STOP SHOP HATVAN https://stop-shop.com/hu/ magyarorszag/hatvan

CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

STOP SHOP HŰVÖSVÖLGY

https://stop-shop.com/hu/ magyarorszag/budapesthuvoesvoelgy

NR

STOP SHOP KESZTHELY

https://stop-shop.com/hu/ magyarorszag/keszthely

CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

STOP SHOP MISKOLC

https://stop-shop.com/hu/ magyarorszag/miskolc

CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

STOP SHOP NAGYKANIZSA

https://stop-shop.com/hu/ magyarorszag/nagykanizsa

NR

STOP SHOP NYÍREGYHÁZA

CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

https://stop-shop.com/hu/ magyarorszag/nyiregyhaza CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

STOP SHOP ÚJPEST

https://stop-shop.com/hu/ magyarorszag/budapest-ujpest CPI Hungary Kft. 1139 Budapest, Váci út 99–105. (1) 225-6600 www.cpigroup.hu

Decathlon, Euronics, KIK, Pepco, Sinsay, Deichmann, DM, Takko, Budmil, Fressnapf, Müller, Régió Játék

Aldi, Jysk, Müller, Deichmann, Bárdi Autó, KIK, Pepco, Takko, TEDI

3000 Hatvan, Bibó István utca 3. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

Spar, DM, Takko, Fressnapf, Grandvision, Libri, Diego, Erste Bank, OTP Bank

1021 Budapest, Hűvösvölgyi út 138. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

CCC, Pepco, Deichmann, Müller, KIK, Takko, Sportisimo, Ecofamily, Sportfactory

Müller, Euronics, KIK, Deichmann, New Yorker, CCC, Mountex, Pepco, KFC, Kärcher, Ecofamily

8360 Keszthely, Murvás utca 2. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

3526 Miskolc, Szentpéteri kapu 80/A (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

Hervis, Kik, Deichmann, Pepco, Líra, Müller, Takko

C&A, CCC, KIK, DM, Fressnapf, Deichmann, Takko, Euronics

8800 Nagykanizsa, Dózsa György út 123. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

4400 Nyíregyháza, Pazonyi út 39. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

Spar, Deichmann, KIK, DM, KFC, Pizza Forte, Fressnapf, Ecofamily, Raiffeisen Bank, K&H, Victory Fitness, Takko

1042 Budapest, Árpád út 183–185. (1) 225-6600 hungary@cpipg.com

4 Socialite

‘Piano Player of Budapest’ an Extraordinary Tale of Music and Hope

Published in June, Roxanne de Bastion’s first book “The Piano Player of Budapest: A True Story of Holocaust, Survival, Music and Hope” is a highly accomplished, gripping and moving account of the harrowing events in the life of her Jewish Hungarian grandfather Stephen, a successful pianist and composer in this country in the 1930s.

The book is accompanied by an album, “Stephen de Bastion: Songs From The Piano Player of Budapest,” which features original recordings by Stephen de Bastion and extracts from the cassette tapes he recorded telling his story. Roxanne, a singer-songwriter, features on three of the tracks.

“An Old Mill is Dreaming” features Stephen explaining what the song is about in his rich Hungarian accent before his granddaughter sings it in English, and is especially evocative.

A pioneering DIY artist and music advocate, Roxanne de Bastion has released two critically acclaimed albums. The second, “You & Me, We are the Same,” deals with the loss of her British musician father. It was produced by Bernard Butler, best known as the guitarist with U.K. band Suede, and was championed by Iggy Pop on his influential BBC Music radio show.

De Bastion has toured with artists, including Martha Wainwright and Katie Melua, and played at Glastonbury Festival. She sits on the board of the Featured Artist Coalition, which aims to promote greater transparency in the music industry for the benefit of artists and represents artists’ rights on the PPL Performer Board.

When we spoke recently, de Bastion told me that the book project “came at the perfect time. I was in a place where I wanted to dive into my family history. I was so lucky to have such incredible source material, largely Stephen’s story on cassette tape, as well as letters he’d written and a treasure trove of documents and photo albums that survived. In that respect, researching and writing the book was made quite easy for me.”

World Piano Day

For de Bastion, who describes herself as “primarily a musician and ferociously ambitious about it,” finding a book publisher came equally easily. “On World Piano Day, I think it was, I sent out a Tweet outlining Stephen’s story in brief with a photo of him and his piano. A day later, I got a message from my now literary agent saying: ‘This sounds like a great story, have you considered writing a book?’ which never happens. I said, ‘Yes.’ It felt like it was meant to be.”

Throughout the 1930s, de Bastion built his career, scoring music for Hungarian film studios while performing in restaurants, hotels and concert halls in Hungary and Switzerland.

Forced Labor

In October 1942, when de Bastion was 35, he became one of 1,070 Jewish Hungarian men called up for forced labor on the Russian war front. In January 1943, de Bastion escaped a labor camp and, astonishingly, walked 1,500 miles through the Russian winter to Kyiv, where he boarded a military train to Budapest. He was one of eight men to return.

When the Nazis invaded and occupied Hungary on March 19, 1944, de Bastion was selected for forced labor again. He was sent to the Hungarian Sopron ghetto before becoming part of the Death Marches. At the end of one march, he was sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp. When this became full in April 1945, he was forced to march to a subcamp, Gunskirchen. In May 1945, the Germans abandoned the camp, and the Americans arrived.

De Bastion returned to Hungary. In 1946, the song “Emléksel Még,” which Stephen wrote with Iván Szenes back in 1941, became a hit. In English, the song is known as “Remember Me,” bitterly ironic when you consider what had been done to this gifted pianist with a oncepromising career purely because he was Jewish. In 1948, de Bastion moved to the United Kingdom with his piano.

Listening to de Bastion’s voice on the album accompanying the book, I’m struck by how Hungarian he sounds. “My grandfather was nothing if not a patriot, so he primarily identified as Hungarian,” Roxanne de Bastion explains. “He was very proud to have that as his identity. It always came before his Jewishness. But he forbade my father from learning Hungarian or visiting the country.”

Now, Roxanne de Bastion is learning Hungarian, although, like most of us, she agrees it’s not an easy language to learn. Her book is being translated into her grandfather’s mother tongue and will be published in this country next year.

In the preface to her book, de Bastion writes, “My family has a piano. It has tiny marks on the top right corner where my dad used to gnaw at the wood with his baby teeth. Years later, while he played his compositions, I’d play underneath it, soaking up the sounds before my hands were large enough to reach a fifth.”

The piano had belonged to de Bastion’s grandfather, Stephen. “Family legend has it that my great-grandfather, Aladár, bought this piano in 1905 in Hungary as an engagement gift for his wife-to-be, Katica. She, in turn, passed it on to her son, Stephen, and when he died, it came here.”

Stephen de Bastion was born into the Holtzer family of Szeged in 1907. Throughout the 18th century and during the first part of the 19th, the Holtzers built up a successful textile business in the southern city. De Bastion’s granddaughter speculates he adopted his French-sounding name because “He must have been weary enough to want to assimilate, but flamboyant and proud enough to not want to blend in entirely.”

“This is just such an honor,” Roxanne de Bastion tells me. “I’m looking forward to spending more time in Hungary. I’d love to explore more and immerse myself in Hungarian culture.”

DAVID HOLZER

Roxanne de Bastion

Photo by Amber Rose.

Culture Culture Matters

in Brief News

Csángó Association Recruiting Teachers

The Moldavian Csángó Hungarians Association (MCsMSz) is recruiting teachers for the Hungarian education program in Moldavia for the next academic year, according to Attila Hegyeli, the organization’s education coordinator. According to hrportal. hu, the association is looking for kindergarten and school teachers to teach the Hungarian language to Csángo children attending Romanianlanguage schools for the operation of the Hungarian education program in the settlements inhabited by the Csángó, ethnic Hungarians of the Roman Catholic faith mainly living in the Romanian region of Moldavia, especially in Bacău County.

8 Hungarian Unis Advance in QS Ranking

Eight Hungarian universities have advanced in the latest annual ranking of higher education institutions in Europe by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), the Ministry of Culture and Innovation said in a press release on July 11. Loránd Eötvös University is ranked 190th on the list, and the University of Debrecen 222nd. The University of Szeged is in 228th place, and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics ranks 247th. The University of Pécs, Corvinus University of Budapest, István Széchenyi University of Győr, the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Óbuda University, the University of Miskolc, the University

of Pannonia, Péter Pázmány Catholic University, the University of Sopron, Károly Eszterházy Catholic University and Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary also appear in the QS regional ranking.

Budapest Places 14th on Sports Cities Ranking

Budapest was ranked 14th in communications company Burson’s annual Sports Cities Ranking, insidethegames.biz reported. The ranking is based on a quantitative analysis of the digital footprint of the association between sport and a city and perception-based opinions from leaders of international sports federations and significant international sports media. In the run-up to the Olympic Games, Paris topped the list. The runner-up was Los Angeles, followed by New York. Budapest was a place behind Tokyo in the ranking and one spot ahead of Las Vegas.

Mass Execution Grave Uncovered at Battle of Mohács Site

The excavation of a mass grave at the site of the Battle of Mohács (190 km south of Budapest), which began this summer, has revealed that around 2,000 kneeling prisoners were executed with sabers after the battle, the public relations directorate of the University of Szeged (SZTE) announced on July 15. According to the online business daily Világgazdaság [Global Economy], judging from the wounds, the Turkish executioners

A regular look at culture issues in Hungary and the region

killed the Christian prisoners, who were kneeling next to each other with their heads bowed, with saber cuts to the head and neck, from behind and the side. According to György Pálfi, head of the Department of Anthropology at SZTE, the strokes were not explicitly aimed at decapitation but at the quick execution of the victims. The excavation is part of the Mohács 500 project, for which several significant investments are being prepared for the quincentenary anniversary of the battle, fought in 1526, after which the victorious Ottoman forces established hegemony over Hungary for the next century and a half.

Budapest Zoo Attracts 580,000 Visitors in H1

Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden attracted 580,000 visitors in the first half of the year. That number is expected to climb to more than one million by year-end, Endre Sós, the zoo’s director of conservation and veterinary services, said in a press release. He noted that the zoo and botanical garden was the most visited cultural institution in the country. He said foreigners had accounted for 20-25% of visitors so far this year. Last year, the zoo drew 1.113 million visitors.

MNB Issues Rubik’s Cube 50th Anniversary Collector’s Coin

The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) has issued a collectors’ coin to mark the 50th anniversary of the Rubik’s Cube, the iconic puzzle toy that has

sold more than 500 million units worldwide. According to a release on the central bank’s website, the MNB issued the coin marking the creation of “one of the greatest and most successful Hungarian inventions” on July 13, inventor Ernő Rubik’s 80th birthday. The obverse of the unique, hexagonal coin features a representation of the Rubik’s Cube with the inscription “Magyarország” and its nominal value: HUF 3,000. On the reverse of the coin is a representation of the inner structure of the puzzle.

25 Hungarian Hotels Recommended by Michelin Guide

With four new ratings in June, 25 Hungarian hotels have been included in the list of those recommended by the world-famous Michelin Guide, the Hungarian Tourism Agency announced in a press release on July 10. In April of this year, the world’s leading restaurant guide announced that it would start rating hotels in addition to restaurants and currently recommends 5,000 hotels worldwide. Hungary is now represented in the international publication by 10 Michelin-recommended hotels, where a Michelin-recommended or Michelinstarred restaurant awaits its guests.

2024 Fruit Harvest Promises Good Pálinka Vintage

Lando Norris, the 24-year-old British Formula One driver for McLaren who finished second at the 39th Hungarian Grand Prix at Mogyoród (25 km northwest of Budapest) on July 21, competed in a helmet design handpainted by the Herend Porcelain Manufactory. On July 17, Norris and the porcelain factory introduced the helmet, which featured a design inspired by Herend’s “Motifs Hongrois” and “Jardin Zoologique A Bleu” patterns. Herend is also the supplier of the trophies for the race. Sporting the helmet design could be seen as an apology of sorts from Norris to Herend. The website RaceFans.net reported that the McLaren driver accidentally knocked the 2023 race winner Max Verstappens’ first-place trophy off the podium while celebrating. The prize, worth around GBP 35,000, broke at its base.

This year’s fruit harvest promises a good pálinka vintage, with the professionals expecting a more favorable return after last year’s decline: the volume is expected to exceed 600,000 hectoliters. According to agroinform.hu, the crop for the most popular brandy fruit, apricots, was in much larger quantities than in previous years, and the harvest prospects for other fruits are also favorable. Since the introduction of the public health product tax in 2019, the commercial turnover of pálinka has practically halved. Before 2019, the amount produced exceeded one million hectoliters; the volume was 581,000 hectoliters last year.

Number of Firms Working With Unis Doubles in 10 Years

The number of companies that work together with universities and claim to be innovative has doubled over the past 10 years, Deputy State Secretary for Innovation László Bódis of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation told the Educatio+ Conference. According to index.hu, the cooperation of universities and businesses is a crucial issue from the point of view of the further development of both sectors, which is why the government is also targeting this goal. The technological transfer provided to companies means approximately HUF 10 billion in annual revenue for Hungarian universities, and the effective utilization of knowledge and intellectual property created at Hungarian universities generates significant revenue for companies.

Lando Norris Wears ‘Herend Helmet’ at Hungarian F1 GP

Photo by Tamás

Chamber of Commerce Corner

This regular section of the Budapest Business Journal features news and events from various international business chambers. For further information and to register for specific events, visit the organizing chamber’s website. If you have information for inclusion on this page, send an email in English to Annamária Bálint at annamaria.balint@bbj.hu

Swiss-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce (Swisscham)

For the second year, Swisscham, the Embassy of Switzerland and Philip Morris Hungary organized a professional symposium with a VIP cruise on the day of the Kékszalag (blue ribbon) Balaton sailing race. Two boatloads of guests watched the start of the race. The professional program took place on the terrace of Vitorlás Étterem, overlooking the lake. This year’s theme was “Hungary’s EU Presidency and Switzerland: Partnership for the Prosperity of Europe and Sustainable Development.” Following welcome speeches by the Swiss Ambassador Jean-Francois Paroz and State Secretary Gergely Fábián, panelists Ambassador for Climate Action Barbara Botos, Henriett Koós of the Swiss Contribution Fund, Péter Szlávik of Philip Morris Hungary,

Italian Chamber of Commerce for Hungary (CCIU)

From Aug. 16-20, the CCIU will present Expo Italia at the 50th Balatonboglár Festival, a cultural and gastronomic event in Hungary that celebrates the Boglár Harvest Festival. The event aims to promote Italian excellence on an international stage with more than 200,000 visitors. Guests will be able to immerse themselves in Hungarian and Italian traditions through events, artisan workshops and tastings of Italian foods and wines from 22 wine regions. Expo Italia targets cultural institutions, representatives of tourism and gastronomy, Italian companies and producers in Hungary and Hungarian buyers interested in Made in Italy technologies. The participation of the CCIU and local authorities will strengthen ties between the two countries and facilitate business meetings during the festival through the organization of B2B meetings. Companies associated with the CCIU have joined the initiative, including Fratelli Pedrotti Srl, a leader in the agricultural dryer sector; Óvártej Zrt., an important Hungarian dairy company of the Italian Valcolatte group; Italmix Srl, a maker of mixer wagons and agrarian machinery; TDM Nutriservice Srl, a manufacturer of high-tech milking equipment; La Burrata Mozzarella Kft., a leading producer of Italian cheeses in Hungary; Evoteck Srl, a supplier of livestock structures; BalliVini Kft., a leading wine sector company, Pirelli Kft.; and Gusti Mediterraneo Kft., a distributor of original Mediterranean cuisine ingredients.

and moderator Csaba Azurák discussed how Switzerland is helping to achieve sustainability goals through the Contribution Framework Program, what Philip Morris is doing for sustainability at the corporate level, the challenges we face at a global level, and what needs to be done to protect our climate.

British Chamber of Commerce in Hungary (BCCH)

The BCCH and KPMG will hold a business forum on “Corporate Digitalization and Energy Market Changes.” Topics covered will include preparing your company for the challenges of an AI-powered future, how prepared organizations are to use AI and practical examples of its use. Is the “heated” solar market manageable, will wind power take off, and what is the likelihood of a renaissance of traditional large power plants? The KPMG panelists will be Tamás Kórász (partner for management and technology consulting), Ágnes Rakó (partner for risk consulting), Péter Ignácz (manager of data analytics and modeling and a machine learning expert), and Géza Losonczy (associate partner for energy consulting). The host and moderator will be marketing and communication director Gabriella Liptay. The event includes networking, during which a complimentary breakfast will be served.

• When: Wednesday, Sep. 11, 9-11 a.m.

• Where: KPMG HQ, 8th floor, Rooftop 825 Café and Terrace, Váci út 31, Budapest 1134.

• Fee: Attendance is free but subject to registration. With numbers limited, priority will be given to BCCH members.

Hungarian-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFH)

The CCIFH will hold the next installment of its free Zoom webinar, “Tour of the CEE Countries (PECO) in 45 Minutes.”

This regular English-language series of economic trends and news features experts from the six Franco-bilateral chambers of commerce and industry from Central and Eastern Europe: The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia.

• When: Monday, Sep. 16, noon-1 p.m. • Fee: Free, but prior registration is required.

The CCIFH’s season-opening reception and new members’

presentation networking event will include an English and Hungarian language guided tour of the five-star Pullman Budapest hotel. • When: Tuesday, Sep. 17, 6-8 p.m. • Where: Pullman Budapest, Nagymező utca 38, Budapest 1065. Is it better to work at a French company in Hungary? Join the French chamber’s Francophone Business Radar business breakfast to discover the employer branding perception of French companies in Hungary. • When: Tuesday Sep. 24, 9-11 a.m. • Where: Randstad Budapest, Dózsa György út 146-148, Budapest 1134.

German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DUIHK)

The holiday break is a few weeks away, but summer always flies by faster than you think. We cordially invite you to our third “Back-toWork Cocktail,” this time in cooperation with the German Embassy Budapest, in the garden of the German Embassy residence. The evening offers ample opportunity to socialize with other chamber members and partners after the summer break, make new business contacts, and discuss upcoming projects. The ambiance of the German Embassy’s residence creates a relaxed atmosphere, and you can enjoy the end of the summer once again before getting back to work in September.

Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hungary (CCCH)

Held under perfect weather conditions, the exclusive CCCH Sailing Balaton event featured the historic Nemere II, the “flagship” of Lake Balaton. Built at the Balatonfüred Shipyard over half a century ago, the ship is known for its numerous victories; the speed record it set during the Kékszalag (Blue Ribbon) Regatta in 1900 remained unbeaten until 2012. Its elegance and speed mean it is often described as the most beautiful vessel on Lake Balaton. Participants enjoyed a fantastic day on the water, with excellent company contributing to the overall experience. CCCH thanks Pannon Yacht for its invaluable support in making the event possible.

Netherlands-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce (Dutcham)

W Budapest hosted the most recent Dutcham Business Lunch. After enjoying the creative “mix and match” bento lunch box, guests joined a guided tour to get a “look and feel” of the hotel’s unique atmosphere and design.

Hungarian-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce (HNCC)

The HNCC invites all interested parties to its annual business trip, organized with the Embassy of Hungary to Norway, to Budapest and Pécs from Sep. 10-12. The program is intended to attract Norwegian businesspeople and institutional managers interested in doing business with Hungary and wishing deeper insight into market opportunities. The journey focuses on the health industry and medical tourism, with the option to amend the scope of B2B meetings in line with the participants’ sectoral interests. Tour participants will be able to meet prospective Hungarian partners in medical supply, diagnostic equipment manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and

other areas of health and wellness. Besides business-related discussions, a guided tour of Parliament, a meeting with foreign trade heads of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade, and a visit to the Waberer’s Medical Center private clinic, followed by a Castle District tour and dinner, are the first day’s highlights. A professional program and B2B meetings in cooperation with the Hungarian Export Promotion Agency and the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be held on Sep. 11. Then the delegation will head to Pécs, where Prof. József Bódis of the University of Pécs will welcome the Norwegian delegation, and a visit to the National Human

Reproduction Laboratory, as part of the university tour, will take place. After sightseeing in Pécs, the delegation will travel to Villány, one of Hungary’s most outstanding wine regions, where the day will end with a wine-tasting dinner at the Bock Winery. The Pécs-Baranya Chamber of Commerce and Industry will organize the business program and B2B meetings on Sep. 12, followed by a visit to the Da Vinci Clinic, the Zsolnay Porcelain Manufactory and the Cultural Quarter of Pécs. The participation fee of NOK 8,900 per person includes accommodation with breakfast for two nights in a 4- and 5-star hotel, three lunches, the wine-tasting dinner, all entry tickets and transfers. It excludes flight tickets and dinner on the first evening.

Opening a business doesn’t make you a businessman.