ARTEG, A SYMBOL OF HIGH QUALITY AND AFFORDABLE HOMEWARE PRODUCTS

BY RUDINA HOXHA

ARTEG IS A LEADING ALBANIAN RETAIL HOMEWARE COMPANY WITH STORES IN ALBANIA AND KOSOVO WHOSE FOCUS IS THE HOME AND HOW TO MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE WITH ALL THE KITCHEN SUPPLIES IT PROVIDES.

“MAKING YOUR HOME A BETTER PLACE” IS THE MOTTO OF THIS COMPANY, CREATED SINCE 1998 IN VLORA FIRST TO CONTINUE WITH TIRANA AND PRISHTINA, AND THIS IS ACHIEVED BY DELIVERING HIGH QUALITY PRODUCTS COMBINED WITH AN AFFORDABLE PRICE.

FLAMUR ZENELAJ, ABM & CO-FOUNDER OF ARTEG SHARES WITH TRAILBLAZING MAGAZINE ALL ABOUT THE MISSION, THE VISION AND THE PRODUCTS OF ARTEG.

Full interview below:

Please can you tell us more about Arteg and its key to success achieved in 20 years?

What started as a desire to achieve success in our dream was transformed into the key of success throughout the years Arteg kept growing. The persistence to transform a simple shop or a family busines which could assure you better living conditions into an original company to reach every house with our products brought the change to our mentality and vision for the future. Often it happens that a company forgets its

own history how it came into being, how it grew and what it would be its vision as being focused on the constant increase of revenues but our challenge was to develop the business making it a success.

What about the products? How did you manage to bring so many well-known brands in your shops?

In fact, Arteg numbers 17.000 products which yearly are sufficiently added by replacing or reviewing their range constantly. Albania is a small and insignificant market for many developed countries but the decision to be focused on the Italian and French products has been a proper decision as these countries have a focus even towards the countries where the market is not of a special importance. Also the cooperation with some of the conspicuous names in this sector has undoubtedly influenced on the skeptic brands by giving us the possibility to be supplied by them.

What has been the credit of restaurants and bars in the success of arteg?

In fact, we have not been fully focused on HORECA sector in our beginnings by having the house as our main objective. But gradually, as we were finding other possibilities and a growing interest by this sector due to the investments, HORECA was transformed into an important segment in our business. Now in our database, the HORECA category takes the third place with respect of numbers and importance.

Let’s talk a bit about your main partners. You have stated that the partners are one of the most assets of Arteg. Can you mention some of them? What are the brands that make Arteg stands out among its competitors?

If we would evaluate a company with the aim to buy it, of course after examining the financial analyses, we would significantly focus on the profile of clients and suppliers as they both give assurances for the success of every company. One thing is to have a good product and completely something else to have the proper product of a good quality and affordable price for the customers. This is the main filter followed by us before we start out a cooperation. Say, you need a pressure pot for your house. Of course you would not go for a product, which in the best case of not functioning well, would cause problems, so you need to wash the whole kitchen or the cooking area only. That’s why we have decided to be supplied by a producer which guarantees quality, gives satisfaction to the cooking ladies and offers an affordable price and the continuity of the production of the same quality. This market has many well-known names but in the end, they simply remain names for which the consumer is not directly interested but constantly believes in our choice to offer the proper product with a better quality and affordable for the consumers.

How many Arteg shops are n Albania? What about in the neighboring countries? Do you find the same products and brands in the neighboring countries like in Albania or do they differ according to the markets?

Arteg numbers 7 shops in Albania and Kosovo and we try to make them different from one another and addressing certain targets as a constant potential client. Of them, only the shop in Vlora city makes an exception. It resembles to our shop in Tirana and this is so because of the only reason that the origin and the idea of the company came from Vlora. We have always seen this approach with priority in order to develop the business and serve to the consumers of Vlora directly and not through our partners or re-sellers. Besides Vlora, Tirana and Prishtina, Arteg does not operate in other countries directly or indirectly though efforts have often been done. But we have not seen convincing results to be developed in the neigbouring countries. Of course, similar companies with Arteg operate in these countries; moreover some operate locally in the countries they are created and they have not expanded their activity in other countries.

With the presence of more 5 star hotels in Albania in a near future, is Arteg ready to supply these hotels with articles and products which these internationally well-known brands look for?

This is a challenge in itself because to supply a five star hotel, you need to have minimum the same number of stars or more in the way you build the business which will supply a similar hotel. I can say that we are ready with some products but we are not yet ready to present ourselves to such a hotel with a full package where every product is guaranteed and supplied by us constantly. For us, this is a task to be carefully studied in the future because even the hotels’ market does not yet give any signals that the number of five star hotels will be considered in Albania in the next five years though I wish with all my heart we are wrong in our assessment because our country has the potential and the need for such a change.