Robne kuće Beograd ( sr-cyr, Робне куће Београд;

Anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

: Department Stores Belgrade) is a chain of

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

s across

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, with headquarters in Belgrade.

History

Robne kuće Beograd company was founded in 1965 and soon became the largest supermarket chain in former

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

, and third largest chain in Europe. In 1970, it opened a store in the capital city of

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

that opened 24 hours a day, the first such store in SFR Yugoslavia. During its golden times, it had 10,000 employees and more than 100,000 articles in stock. It has been briefly a member of the

International Association of Department Stores The International Association of Department Stores (IADS) is a retail trade association founded in 1928 by a group of department stores with the goal of introducing modern management methods derived from the scientific management movement to the ...

, from 1980 to 1983. During the 1990s, Robne kuće Beograd faced huge problems in its operations, caused by breakup of SFR Yugoslavia and international sanctions on FR Yugoslavia. Finally, in 2002, it went into bankruptcy procedure. The department stores were successfully auctioned off on 29 October 2007, to the Serbian

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...

vehicle importer "Verano Motors" for 360 million

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

s. Most of that money, the

Government of Serbia The government of Serbia ( sr-cyrl, Влада Србије, Vlada Srbije), formally the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr-cyrl, Влада Републике Србије, Vlada Republike Srbije), commonly abbreviated to Serbian Governme ...

spent for other purposes and former shareholders left deprived; the company itself continued working with limited operations, mostly leasing its properties to global brand chains. One of the biggest problems with its stores in Belgrade are legal proceedings that would determine status of ownership of these properties, as many of them are allegedly

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

during the 1940s and 1950s, and are subject to the eventual

restitution Restitution and unjust enrichment is the field of law relating to gains-based recovery. In contrast with damages (the law of compensation), restitution is a claim or remedy requiring a defendant to give up benefits wrongfully obtained. Liability ...

. As of 2008, Robne kuće Beograd managed with 34 department stores in Serbia, of which eight were located in Belgrade. In 2008, Greek

Marfin Investment Group MIG Holdings S.A. (also known as MIG) is a Greece, Greek investment company. It has acquired several companies and has changed name several times since. In 2004 it took the name ''Marfin Financial Group'' following the triple merger of ''Comm G ...

took the majority of shares in Robne kuće Beograd from "Verano Motors".

References

External links

* 1966 establishments in Yugoslavia Companies based in Belgrade Department stores of Serbia D.o.o. companies in Serbia Retail companies established in 1966 Serbian brands {{Serbia-company-stub