Drive with a smile

„Smile, you are on the stage is something that we insist on with all our employees. A smile is free, and when you have a smile like ours at EKO Serbia, it is something that customers remember. It is exactly that smile which sets us apart from the competition.”Goran Dejanović

EKO Serbia a. d., a member of Hellenic Petroleum Group, a leading oil company in Greece and Southeast Europe, operates in Serbia through a retail network of 48 petrol stations, under the EKO brand.

In addition to selling all types of fuel (unleaded 95, unleaded-98, eurodiesel and LPG) and lubricants, EKO petrol stations offer a number of additional products and services. Additionally, the company is also involved in the procurement, transportation and sale of fuels, lubricants and LPG for commercial and industrial customers.

EKO petrol stations are modern facilities designed to provide the widest range of services - they include mini markets with a carefully selected range of consumer products, car related products and EKO lubricants, ECO RACING café, automatic and manual car wash, playgrounds, ATMs, free wi-fi; while petrol stations on the highway include a restaurant complex, andsnack bar OLYMPUS PLAZA, the famous Greek chain.

We had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Goran Dejanović, Vice President of the Board of Directors and Executive Director of EKO Serbia.

Mr Dejanović, where were you born? Where did you grow up and go to school?

I was born in Belgrade. In my early youth, I spent some time in Libya with my parents where I completed the first six grades of primary school. Considering that there was no Yugoslav school at that time in Tripoli, I went to an international school named Oil Companies School, and to a Yugoslav supplementary school at the same time.

After returning to Serbia, I completed the first two years of vocational education at the Fifth Belgrade High School and later attended the Second High School of Economics in Belgrade. After that I wentto the Faculty of Economy at the University of Belgrade.

While living in Libya and attending the Oil Companies School, I noticed many children thinking hard about how to make some pocket money. One of the ways was to make juice. They used to dilute Tang(something similar to Cedevita), freeze the beverage in plastic cups and then sell it at school. Back then I realized what competition meant and that innovations were needed in order to develop the business considering the fact that they managed to sell up to 10-20 cups a day…

I had an idea to persuade my mother to make donuts, genuine Serbian donuts, which I brought to the “school market”. There were about 100 donuts and I sold all of them in less than an hour and thus earned my first pocket money. The demand was so high that it was impossible to achieve such large production in a workshop at home, so I had to pull out of the project.

What was your career path like before you became the Executive Director of EKO Serbia? How long have you been in this position?

During my years as a student, consideringthe fact that Ispoke English well,I was involvedin translatingmovies forvariousvideo stores.

My first real job was for the Procurement Sector of Hyatt hotel. I was hired for a period of just one month, actually, I was only needed there for the duration of the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, but I ended up staying there for full 13 years. I got promoted and my last position at Hyatt was a Specialist for Materials Management for EAM. This job enabled me to work in many countries: UAE, Morocco, Spain, France, Hungary, Egypt, Argentina…

After 13 years atHyatt, I moved from the hospitality and services sector to something completely different, and that is FMCG sector (fast moving consumer goods). I got a job at Procter & Gamble, where I spent the next 6 years. I started as an Account Manager for Serbia and Montenegro, and over time my duties expanded to include stewarding for 6 countries (Serbia, Montenegro, FYR Macedonia, Bulgaria and Albania). I left P&G as the Finance Director for the Western Balkans.

After P&G, a third possibility opened up, that is a third industry, and that was Hellenic Petroleum. I was offered a job as the Finance Director of EKO Serbia.

After two years in EKO Serbia I became a Vice President of the Board of Directors. After less than 4 years, in October 2011, I was promoted to Executive Director of EKO Serbia a. d.

EKO Serbia aims to become the leader on the Serbian fuel market by offering top quality products and services, as well as safe working conditions. How close are you to reaching this goal?

When we say the leader on the Serbian market, it is a very broad concept. Is the leader the one who sells the most liters of fuel or the one who sells the top quality fuel or something else?

EKO Serbia currently takes 8% of the Serbian market share, which may not represent a leading position, but what sets us apart in the Serbian market is definitely our innovation, modern way of doing business and great quality products.

Learning from the revelation that crises (which historically come in almost equal intervals) can be used for the advancement of business, we used that time to take the best out of the situation that we could under the given circumstances. We focused on achieving our maximum in terms of organization and workforce, we did not want to give in to the negative wave which took over… The result is visible in the fact that the business operations ofEKO Serbia today are on an upward trend.

I would also like to mention that last year we celebrated a 10-year anniversary since the foundation of EKO Serbia last year.While summarizing the achievements of the past decade, even we ourselves were surprised.

In 2002, we started with a few petrol stations, and now we have 50. We are present in all larger cities, we have become an important player in all areas of trade in oil and oil derivatives. However, what we consider the most important, is the fact that we managed to create a large number of satisfied customers who come back to us over and over again, knowing they can get excellent quality with excellent service at our stations.

All members of Hellenic Petroleum Group put safety always on the first place. We point it out every day and at all times. And not just declaratively. The first principle of the Hellenic Petroleum Group is: “Safety always comes first.”

What kind of business results were achieved in 2012 and 2013? Did they meet expectations? If not, how far were they off by?

The crisis hit Serbia the hardest in 2011 and 2012, even in 2013, I daresay. Of course, the crisis also hit the oil derivatives market, however, it also enabled something new. The effect of healthy competition.

In order to achieve enviable results, you always need to invest. That investment does not always need to be in money. During the last couple of years, our focus has been on training the staff and we achieved considerable results in that field, knowing that after all, it all comes down to people. We formed an HR Training Team at the end of 2011, we started an enormous job and already in the first half of 2012, the results were visible. In the beginning of 2013, the EKO Serbia Training Team won an award within Hellenic Petroleum in the area of training.

This decision primarily boosted healthy competition. Each company dealing in oil trade now decides independently whether to buy goods from domestic sources or to import it.

Also, some products to which we were referred, and which have been abandoned in Europe, were discontinued.

Serbia’s opening up towards the EU means a step forward, among other things in terms of fuel quality that we use today, and which is compliant with European standards.

When we are talking about doing business on the Serbian oil derivatives market, there is a number of players, domestic, as well as foreign, that try to get their share of the pie.To what extent will they be successful, it is yet to be seen in the market game, and the most important thing is that the customers will be the referees.

In the future, we can expect much larger competition, which, hopefully, will be fair. I expect a market in which everyone will be given an equal chance, and the place of the biggest battle will be the very point of sale, i.e. the petrol station.

The customers of today are extremely educated, they know what they want and what they can get for their money. EKO Serbia a. d. is there to meet their demands.

Social responsibility and environmental protection are an important segment of “EKO Serbia” operations. What measures do you take to make your company socially responsible?

“EKO Serbia” is present in all spheres of social life. Our endeavors are aimed at responding to the demands of the community and we try to help out as much as possible. We have been a longtime partner of Princess Katherine’s Foundation, the “Mali veliki ljudi” organization, we have been sponsoring the Olympic Committee of Serbia for two Olympic cycles, and we provide sponsorship for the Football Association of Serbia. Our commitment is not aimed at teams; we are committed to the nation, Serbia, sports and fostering of true values.

Each year during the travelling and vacation season, consumers are provided with a free of charge “Stop and Check” service – a free check of 6 key points of the car for a safer ride.

All of our facilities meet all standards set forth by regulations. We are strongly committed to environmental and fire protection – our wish is to provide a safe place for both consumers and employees. We are the sole provider in Serbia of Euro Diesel treated with air-filters, making this fuel cleaner. As part of a pilot project, a vapor recovery device was installed at two petrol stations; this device is tested so that this technology could be implemented in all our petrol stations in the foreseeable future.

Nowadays, petrol stations serve as oases on roads, and in addition to being a fuel refilling point, they provide drivers with the opportunity to rest, refresh themselves and make additional preparations for a safer and more pleasant journey.

As I said earlier, the smile is what in our opinion counts the most these days and we have prepared new EKO Smile club cards. As part of the loyalty program of the EKO Smile Club, our consumers are provided with the opportunity to collect points on their cards on their own, in a completely automated manner, through each purchase, regardless whether fuel is bought or any other item offered at our petrol stations. Each purchase awards a certain number of points that are added up and consumers may then choose the desired gift on their own.

This system is very simple – consumers collect points with their cards and points are exchanged for gifts.

Up to now, consumers were given various gifts for each purchase of 25 liters of fuel. We have been a part of a successful campaign with “Metalac” dishware maker. Now we have opted to allow our consumers to choose the gift they want from our catalogue. A specially prepared SMILE catalogue of gifts contains a large number of products, featuring 24 companies that are partners of this program, and in time new products will be added.

This campaign is planned to last for a longer period of time – acquired points will be valid for 3 years, and while eager drivers can collect their gifts right away at petrol stations, those who are more patient will exchange their points and win a truly valuable gift such as jewelry pieces made of gold with gemstones, high-quality suitcases, bicycles and so on.

The range of offered gifts is really diverse, meeting the needs of entire families and there is something for everyone.

A smile is what we all need.

What else is offered to your customers apart from fuel at EKO petrol stations?

Our petrol stations offer a large selection of items.

EKO petrol stations are modern retail facilities equipped to satisfy even the most demanding drivers when it comes to range of products offered at a retail store. Drivers are provided with free Wi-Fi internet access at nearly all of our petrol stations.

The “Stop and Check” campaign has been underway for some time. Drivers can do a check of six road safety-related parameters of vehicle performance at no cost.

In addition, our employees are there to answer any demand that drivers might have…

Our petrol stations feature car wash facilities called “AUTO SPA”, cafés, some of our petrol stations have a bank, enabling our clients to pay their bills, exchange money etc. all in one place, which is a special and unique offer at the market .

We even sell small LPG bottles for households… our petrol stations are indeed a small shopping center. We are also creating new ways of surprising our customers, such as the launch of “Urban Pocket” campaign, but right now we will not reveal any details of this campaign.

What are Smile cards? How can consumers obtain these cards? How are points collected?

Smile card is a new feature on offer at EKO petrol stations and it is the trademark of our EKO SMILE Club – loyalty program for our loyal customers. The EKO Smile card is provided free of charge to each consumer at all our petrol stations. All a consumer needs to do is to fill out a form with some basic data so that the process of collecting points can be tracked. The card will be activated as soon as it is handed to the consumer.

Points are collected, for example, when you buy 10 liters of fuel, you will receive a certain number of points depending on the fuel type. For 1 liter of a specific fuel 4 points are awarded, and for 10 liters you will receive 40 points. Points may also be collected in cafés, where 5 points are awarded for every 100 dinars spent; the same applies for the retail store and car wash.

A fair number of points may be collected through just one visit to our petrol station, and the points are valid for the next three years.

When selecting a gift, consumers submit their card and pay only 1 dinar.

The aim of this campaign was to put back a smile on drivers' faces, which is why the slogan of the entire program is “Drive with a smile”, and the card was given the name SMILE.

What is the expected response from the consumers during the Smile campaign?

During the first 4 days of the campaign, several tens of thousands of drivers got their Smile cards. We expect a response from a large number of customers and we are certain that our customers will recognize benefits they deem suitable, which are offered by our Smile campaign.

People like to be rewarded for their loyalty, they like to play, collect points and win valuable gifts. Customers like to be pleasantly surprised and that is why the first field reports (from the petrol stations) are very positive.

Your job is both dynamic and demanding. How do you cope with everyday stress?

A working day which lasts up to 12 hours is followed by a moment of relaxation – a moment when the family gathers in the evening at home, and this is the moment I always look forward to. I have been married to my wife Mira for 20 years and I am a proud father of two daughters – Tijana and Tašana. Moments with my family are always relaxing, especially when you know that your loved ones, who share ups and downs with you every day, support you. Weekends are reserved for my family. Over the weekdays, I enjoy relaxing late evening walks with my dog, which allows me to gather my thoughts and prepare myself for the next workday.

How do you spend your free time? Where do you go out?

I go to places I like, places where I have experienced pleasant moments and places I always return to, whether it is a restaurant, café or the countryside. Places that are not strictly business-related are the places I prefer to go to with my friends.

If you were given the opportunity, what would you change in your career up to this point?

My career developed step by step and during my 24-year career I was promoted a number of times. I have climbed up the corporate ladder gradually; I learned things, acquired new acquaintances. I think there is not a thing I would change, precisely because experience is something priceless in the business world. But I find the work I do for “EKO Serbia” completely fulfilling, and the position I currently hold is the result of a long career.

By the way, if we go back to the beginning of this interview, I think that maybe it was destiny, or my first elementary school “School of Oil Companies”, that predetermined at a very early age the course that my career would take.