Ostoja Mijailović tells our portal all about his new investments and where he is investing, and what he expects in sport. We talked about the development of the automotive industry, the “Serbian Davos”, and who is in sport today.
Ostoja Mijailović is known as the head of the board of the Partizan basketball club. That side of his work has somewhat pushed the other, entrepreneurship, into the background in the public eye.
Still, in an interview for Telegraf Biznis, he stresses that he does everything deliberately. Mijailović tells our portal all about his new investments, where he is investing, and what he expects in sport.
We talked about the development of the automotive industry, the upcoming “Serbian Davos”, and who is in sport today, and why.
Ostoja started his own business at the age of 22. He was also a member of parliament. He owns and manages several companies, such as British Motors, Globos Insurance, AKS Fleet Solution, Bavaria Motors, Bavaria Motorrad and BM Premium Yachts…
“A man who started modestly, followed a vision and had the ability to recognise the moment for decisive business moves.”
“Choose a field of interest in which you are at home. There you will find it much easier to recognise the shortcomings that your idea can remove. I will not be saying anything new if I repeat that developing good software solutions will certainly remain a profitable investment for a long time.”
“However, if you want to rise above the competition, you must have a better product.”
“And the road to a better product leads through personal education and the education of your team. I rely to a great extent on my colleagues, whom I consider great professionals and people who justify the trust placed in them every day. I would recommend that way of doing business to anyone.”
“It is not a question of whether an opportunity will be recognised, but when. You must be ready to react before others and you must not be afraid of failure. Fear is healthy in that it makes you give your best. But on the other hand, fear must not hold you back from achieving your dreams.”
“Our current project, Lux 51, in the elite part of Bežanijska kosa, is under construction. It covers more than 65,000 square metres and is designed in line with a new vision of contemporary living.”
“Colleagues in whom I have great trust designed this project to improve every aspect of living. I believe we will set standards so that our next location sells out even faster. Besides construction, we are also investing in the infrastructure of our companies.”
“We recently bought a building in Radnička street, near Ada Ciganlija, where we have moved part of our business. There we are developing a new car centre called Ada Motors.”
“Very challenging. Especially in the automotive industry. That is why I think the upcoming Kopaonik Business Forum is the ideal place to talk about the challenges ahead. Production costs will rise and the number of vehicles produced will not keep up with demand, which will push vehicle prices up.”
“The war in Ukraine, which practically followed Covid, has also contributed to market instability. Now we have had the catastrophic earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, which besides the human and infrastructural tragedies also paralyse the Turkish market to a degree. A turn towards mobility, fleet management and vehicle rental can be a good solution in the business world, especially in these circumstances.”
“Very important, because investment creates better living conditions in those towns. I am personally very proud of all the investments in Čačak and the surrounding area. I am responsible for some of them myself, and I am especially proud that many of the people I went to primary school with now work in companies I own.”
“That way we preserve the local economy, and I think we badly need that if our towns across the country are to become ever more attractive.”
“State investment in infrastructure will certainly contribute to the development of the economy, in both the private and the public sector. When it comes to cooperation, there is always room for improvement, especially in speeding up decision-making procedures in the competent institutions.”
“Dialogue exists and it helps improve the situation. Still, I believe we would all be happier if progress in that area moved faster than it has so far.”
“Investment by Serbian business people in sport is very much present. The Board of the Partizan basketball club alone includes ten of perhaps the biggest Serbian business people. They are also the club’s sponsors. I thank them for recognising the importance of sport and Partizan’s reputation in basketball and in sport globally.”
“We fight together, and that togetherness is very important. On the other hand, I think it would be even better for sport if other successful Serbian and regional business people became involved.”
“Investing in sport in our market is rightly considered a form of socially responsible business, especially investment in clubs of national importance such as Partizan or Crvena zvezda. Sports sponsorship is not an investment whose return you can measure precisely, but we are all aware that sport in our market carries very strong emotions.”
“So by linking your brand with a sports team, you will more easily reach the point where your clients, that is, consumers, identify with you. There are also certain value measurements, carried out most precisely each month by the EuroLeague with its partners. For example, every monthly report on media presence, in Serbia or in Europe, is measured in millions of euros in commercial terms.”
“And these are mostly positive stories that the club I lead generates on the strength of its name and its results.”
“Apart from football, all other sports can and must be described as non-profit. Even though the Partizan basketball club, for example, can generate a serious amount from ticket sales, to be competitive it must find the bulk of its funding through sponsorship.”
“In other clubs and sports that are less attractive to the public, the situation is even more pronounced. A system of state funding for individuals and sports federations exists and runs through the Olympic Committee of Serbia. Still, that is not enough for sport on a wider scale, above all for children and young people.”
“Infrastructure is also a major challenge: it has not been invested in for a long time, yet it plays an important role and, properly managed, can be a stable source of income.”
“As I said in passing, I will talk about the challenges facing the automotive industry. It is an important topic because I believe the problems can easily spill over into other branches of the economy.”
“It is not only I who represent OMR Group; I entrust that role with full confidence to my colleagues, the company’s vice presidents, members of the Board and the directors of the companies that make up our group.”
“My presence in the media thanks to sport is so great that, at least in public, it has put business in second place. That imbalance is something we will certainly change, but on the other hand we are aware of how great the interest in sport is and how much space it rightly takes up in the media.”
“Partizan is a great passion, a great obligation, and I can freely say a renunciation of ordinary life and business.”
“Still, I went into it consciously, I am there consciously and I regret nothing.”
Source: Biznis.telegraf.rs
