UPM_News_2016

Trust

business capital

in Serbia

Rumour says you should

never do business with

friends. Debunking

this myth is the close

friendship formed

between Serbian

publishers Novosti

Belgrade and their

trusted long-term paper

supplier, UPM.

Text:

Edvard Grilc, Mari Hirvi

Photo:

Novosti Belgrade

ečernje Novosti

is a Serbian dai-

ly tabloid newspaper with a cir-

culation of around 200,000 cop-

ies. With roots tracing back to the

1950s, the paper is published by Nov-

osti Belgrade, who having been sourc-

ing their newsprint from UPM for three

years. Trust, mutual respect and the

ability to overcome challenges togeth-

er have built a strong bond between the

two companies.

Originally chosen for its strong ref-

erences, UPM has proved itself to be a

highly reliable business partner. “Our

business relationship has gradually de-

veloped into a professional friendship.

Trust is the basis of any good part-

nership. Our mutual understanding is

based on listening to each other’s pro-

fessional standpoints and appreciating

the reality of the business we are both

engaged in,” explains Commercial Di-

rector

Rade Vidakovich

Publishing a daily newspaper is a

hectic, dynamic business: deadlines

are short, as an entire product must be

created from scratch every day. “Our

newspapers go back 65 years. This leg-

acy compels us to exhibit the maxi-

mum degree of professionalism and

care. UPM’s competence makes it easi-

er for us to succeed in this highly chal-

lenging task.”

Through thick and thin

Vidakovich is happy with the precision

and quality of UPM’s services: “With-

out exaggeration, UPM has been in-

credibly diligent in meeting delivery

deadlines. Over a period of three years,

there has not been a single late deliv-

ery. In addition, the paper delivered

has been of consistent high quality. Not

once have we needed to file any kind of

complaint.”

Even through difficult times, UPM

has stood by the company’s side, prais-

es Vidakovich: “In May 2014, Serbia

was struck by a natural disaster involv-

ing extensive flooding. For a whole

month, our business faced major prob-

lems and we sustained heavy finan-

cial losses. Every day, I received calls

from UPM’s representatives offering

us friendly support and showing a will-

ingness to assist us to the best of their

ability. To me, this was proof that we

had real friends at UPM. Here in the

Balkan region, such support is never

forgotten.”

“The global digitalization

trend has inevitably penetrat-

ed into Serbia as well. This has

logically led to a drop in the cir-

culation of printed media. Ser-

bia has a population of eight

million, with the daily newspa-

per market traditionally com-

prising between 10% and 12%

of this figure. That comes to

800,000–900,000 copies, which

includes sales of all our dai-

ly newspapers. However, right

now the market has shrunk to

only 500,000 copies,” laments

Vidakovich.

The general fall-off has

also affected the circulation of

Večernje Novosti,

but the 35%

drop has not been as dramat-

ic as that sustained by its com-

petitors in Serbia. “The reason

is the demographic structure

of our readership. Our average

reader is aged over 50 years,”

reveals Vidakovich.

“The editorial concepts of

our competitors favour light-

er reading. The ‘yellow press’

loses its readership more quick-

ly, because younger readers are

quicker and more eager to em-

brace new trends.”

The paper’s successful transi-

tion to a fresh, modern-day ed-

itorial concept is another rea-

son why Vidakovich believes

in the future of

Večernje Nov-

osti

. “Daily newspapers have to

offer readers a different angle.

Digital channels supply short

snippets of quick information,

while print provides a broader,

more comprehensive overview

of events from various angles,

also based on more careful-

ly verified details. We live in a

world in which the quick spread

of news keeps people well-in-

formed, but this also carries a

risk of incorrect news spread-

ing rapidly.”

In spite of the problems faced

by the industry, Vidakovich sees

a future for print: “The printed

medium will survive, although

perhaps not in the same vol-

ume and circulation. But it will

certainly continue to exist as a

channel for providing informa-

tion to the public, because trust

plays an important role. Dig-

ital media may be quick, but

perhaps speed may result in a

loss of trust, which ultimate-

ly has to be important as well.

This answer may be more of a

philosophical viewpoint than an

opinion, but we can only wait

and see – time will tell.”

Digital Serbia

adapts to

change

UPM

NEWS 21