A Way To Remember

adopting our views and learning from us.

We conducted research last year that shows that our consumers are among those who understand that you don’t have to travel far to enjoy yourself. These are people who know their roots, where they sprouted, what values they serve, and who still know best where they want to go. Our consumers expect high-quality and magic, they understand hedonism, but want it all in a bottle that suits the 21st century. Our people are also those who want to come here and familiarise themselves with Serbia, to climb Cvijić’s Peak, to get acquainted with Šumadija and the slopes of Rudnik, and to hear the history of our rebellious and hospitable people.

It is because of them that we redesigned our packaging after more than ten years. We wanted to thank them for their loyalty, leadership and orientation, both within and beyond the borders of Serbia. We owe them that.

Today’s world brings constant challenges in the form of new technologies. Innovations. Human lifespans are longer than ever before. Medicine is advancing. The stars are now closer than we could ever have imagined.

And yet, society is changing, just like life values, while the middle class is disappearing. The maturing generations are different. Changes are inevitable, and no one knows what they will bring. Great uncertainty and tension have been created and have become integral to the consumer environment, which has overwhelmed us all in a way.

All this serves to make the environment in which we communicate with our consumers and the entire community even more complex. Accordingly, as business leaders, we have our own personal responsibilities, but also a business/professional responsibility, to serve as an example of values in our own field and to really remember, every single day, that we are also guardians of the pillars of society. We bear part of the responsibility for the new generations that are maturing by mirroring our actions,

This year, alongside Gorda plum, quince and apricot rakija, we also launched our apple rakija. This new addition is called Aron. Aron was Gorda’s husband.☺This product represents a hidden chapter in our story of Gorda. By combining the French style for the production of Calvados brandy and blending more than five varieties of our own apples, we are offering something completely different on the market. There will be more new additions before the end of the year, but we are extremely proud of this one. Our central focus is now on increasing our raw material base. It is in this direction that the logistics of our agronomists and technologists have been set. In contrast to other fruit crops, plums are planted without a great deal of organisation and planning, and almost every homestead has some sort of grove. The plum, with its various uses, is an integral part of Serbian life. However, there are no large, organised orchards. And this is precisely what’s needed in the future. Each micro site has its own specificities and requirements. The reality is that these are small, widely dispersed orchards, and on the whole they belong to old rural homesteads.

We are happy that we are nonetheless expanding our cooperation and that the number of suppliers is gradually increasing, together with the initiative to plant specifically for our needs, as a secure buyer.

Furthermore, our team is developing a strategy for us to achieve more significant exports as a percentage of total sales, which we have established as a strategic five-year goal. Generating demand beyond the borders of Serbia is an enduring and demanding process that requires strategic state support.

In order for Serbia to be branded as the home of ’rakija’ fruit brandies, we must all work together to establish qualitative standards for natural rakijas, combat the grey market and organise plum orchards, tourism content and, of course, communication itself.

We are happy that willingness, desire and knowledge exist and that we can access them easily, both through cooperation with the Gornji Milanovac local government and through the support of the Faculty of Agriculture and the Fruit Research Institute in Čačak.

According to our internal estimates, the unregulated market is five to seven times larger than the market of organised and measurable income from rakija sales. The unregulated rakija market annually deprives the state of tens of millions of euros through unpaid duties.

In this land of fruit rakijas, you will be surprised to learn that excise duties on imported spirits, such as whisky or French cognac, were reduced recently. The assimilating of these excise duties renders those of us that produce a high-quality product from pure fruit less competitive.

The quality of Serbian fruit rakijas is better than that of strong imported spirits, but they cannot compete in terms of sales

Our country still ranks third in the world for plum production, while it is second in Europe for the production of quince. We believe that, with a good strategy to brand Serbia as the land of fruit rakijas, exports can achieve growth from last year’s total of just 12 million euros to 100 million euros over the next 10 years on foreign markets, because imported spirits are backed by powerful corporations, while our small producers are only backed by small domestic enterprises.

Our country still ranks third in the world for plum production, while it is second in Europe for the production of quince. We believe that, with a good strategy to brand Serbia as the land of fruit rakijas, exports can achieve growth from last year’s total of just 12 million euros to 100 million euros over the next 10 years.

Scotland provides the best example of a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, and Scottish cellars hold a wealth of whisky that’s worth more than the gold reserves of England.

On the flip side of that coin is Japan, an unexpected home of whisky that has succeeded in everything that we want to achieve in just a few decades, by creating a high-quality and recognisable product and becoming a world leader, launching a new tradition and writing its own story.

Micro distilleries have expanded unbelievably over the past decade and Serbia’s strength is that it really has an excellent offer of natural fruit rakijas.

We want to build a tradition whereby any mention of Serbia makes people think of fruit rakija.

After 20 years spent in a corporation, Gorda was a way for me to remember... A carefree childhood, days spent with grandma and grandpa, muddy feet, picking blackberries and elderberries, and summers that were seemingly endless. Children seek freedom, but the children that live within us are also striving to recall that they can once again be free.

In today’s times, there are no more homemade products even in homes that have the conditions required to live in such a healthy way. It used to be that the meadows of Rudnik that surround us were filled with shepherds, both children and adults, tending to their flocks. That is no longer the case. However, hope lives on, because some young people have returned to Čačak and helped to establish the small Moravian market that brings together local producers of food, knitwear and everything that’s old and new. We need all of this in order for us to really brand the Šumadija region. This is our Tuscany or Provence. And to me it’s even more beautiful to me.

Me and my team have allowed ourselves to believe that achieving success in business requires that you look into your heart. We together remembered that it is permitted to dream, to make mistakes, to build and to believe that we can offer our children at least the choice of a different way of life. And the freedom to choose is up to them.

The kids from Velereč who pick plums in our orchards bring a smile to my face. They are paid in ice cream. I want my son to believe that he can dream and live freely.

Elon Musk Says He Has Found New Twitter Ceo

Elon Musk announced that he has found a new chief executive for Twitter but did not disclose the name. Musk tweeted that the new CEO for X/Twitter will start in mid-June, and he will transition to the role of chief technology officer of the social media platform within the next few weeks. The Wall Street Journal reported that talks were underway with Linda Yaccarino, an executive at Comcast’s NBCUniversal, for the CEO role at Twitter. Elon Musk, who became the CEO of Twitter after completing the company’s acquisition for $44 billion in October, had previously stated in December that he would step down from his CEO position once he found a suitable replacement. Musk added that he would oversee Twitter’s software and server teams once he transitioned.

META HIT WITH RECORD 1.2BLN EURO FINE OVER DATA TRANSFERS

Meta was hit with a record 1.2 billion euro fine by its lead European Union privacy regulator over handling user information. It was given five months to stop transferring users’ data to the United States. The fine, imposed by Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), came after Meta continued to transfer data beyond a 2020 EU court ruling invalidating an EU-U.S. data transfer pact. It tops the previous record EU privacy fine of 746 million euros handed by Luxembourg to Amazon.com Inc in 2021. The battle over where Meta’s Facebook stores its data began a decade ago after Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems brought a legal challenge over the risk of U.S. snooping in light of disclosures by former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

VOLVO GROUP IN DEAL TO BUY HALF OF NEW SWEDISH WIND FARM’S POWER

Swedish manufacturer Volvo Group has signed a 10-year deal to buy half of the power produced by Sweden’s new Bruzaholm wind farm starting in 2025, the companies said. Swedish state-owned energy company Vattenfall will start constructing the wind farm with a capacity of 140 megawatts this summer. “The agreement signals our commitment to prioritise low-carbon investments, source renewable energy and take climate action across everything we do,” Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt said in a statement. Volvo Trucks, a group unit, plans for 50% of its truck sales to be electric by 2030. Vattenfall operates over 1,200 wind turbines with a capacity of over 4 gigawatts in five European countries.

JAPAN’S MIZUHO EXPANDS IN U.S. BANKING

Mizuho Financial Group Inc will buy U.S. M&A advisory firm Greenhill & Co Inc for 550 million Euros, including debt, the companies issued in a statement, as Japan’s No. 3 lender eyes a bigger share of the world’s largest investment-banking fee pool. Greenhill shares more than doubled to close at $14.66 in the third week of May after the announcement, just below the offer price of 14 Euros per share. The boost helped Greenhill shares erase their losses accumulated over the last 12 months due to the impact of higher interest rates on deal-making. The stock was priced at $20 in its 2004 initial public offering. The Greenhill business will sit within Mizuho’s banking division, led by Michal Katz, head of banking in the Americas. Its chairman and CEO, Scott Bok, will become chairman of the M&A and restructuring advisory business.

Morgan Stanley Ceo Plans To Step Down

Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman told shareholders that the company will likely appoint its next CEO in the next 12 months. Gorman, 64, said the board had identified three strong candidates to succeed him and that he will become executive chairman once a new CEO is chosen. “Gorman has been at MS for a long time now and was very much behind the purchase by MS of E*Trade Financial Corp and Eaton Vance Corp, both of which have been very successful for MS. Under his leadership, MS stock has been one of the best-performing financials, so I expect investors will be disappointed he is leaving and will see him as a hard act to follow.”

Malaysia To End 5g Monopoly

Malaysia said it will adopt a dual network model for its 5G rollout next year following widespread concerns about pricing and competition over a single state-run network. The decision is the latest by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s sixmonth-old administration aimed at dismantling monopolies and promoting competition. However, it could create tension with Western countries that wanted Malaysia to stick with its original plan. In 2021 Malaysia unveiled a plan for a state-owned agency, Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), to own the full 5G spectrum, with various carriers using the infrastructure to provide mobile services. Malaysia has now decided to allow a second entity after DNB’s coverage reaches 80% of populated areas.