"Over the past 35 years, we’ve consistently faced significant challenges: wars, crises, the dissolution of Yugoslavia, embargoes. Macedonia has successfully weathered all these challenges, building resilience in the process. In some ways, we’ve gained an advantage over other countries. We, the Balkan nations, know how to operate under such conditions. Business relations continued despite the Balkan wars. Cooperation existed among BiH, Croatian, and Serbian companies. During the conflict in Western Macedonia, Macedonian companies didn’t stop working. This likely gave us greater momentum, fostering stronger collaboration and cohesion among businesses," stated Sasho Naumoski, Chief Executive Officer of Vitaminka Prilep, a company with a pronounced sense of social responsibility. He shared this in the latest episode of the Business Club podcast in conversation with Branko Azeski, President of the Economic Chamber, discussing the resilience and sustainability of businesses and their role as bridges for cooperation during crises.

In his discussion, Naumoski highlighted three key challenges currently affecting the Macedonian economy: labor shortages, declining liquidity, and corruption. According to Naumoski, while Vitaminka currently does not face direct labor shortages, the issue is felt indirectly when advertising job vacancies, as the pool of applicants is limited, complicating the selection process. Notably, Vitaminka was the first company in Prilep to participate in dual education, with three students from the first cohort signing employment contracts with the company.

"The most significant issue right now is labor shortages—this is the number one and sole major challenge. The second is the decline in liquidity among companies in Macedonia (with an essential need for changes to the Law on VAT, especially regarding the import of new machinery and equipment), and the third is corruption," Naumoski emphasized.

He argued that the Government must consider decentralization and relocating ministries to other regions. This would alleviate pressure on the central administration in the capital, reduce the migration of workers to public administration jobs in Skopje, strengthen businesses in other cities, and ultimately bring multiple benefits to the state.

When asked about collaboration within the Macedonian business community, Naumoski stressed that there are no divisions in Macedonian business. When interests align, cooperation resembles the approach taken by Americans. "The only thing we do better than Americans is that we maintain and nurture relationships even after the collaboration ends," he noted.

In this Business Club podcast episode, Naumoski also spoke about his beginnings in business, his experiences outside of Vitaminka, and how the company survived the transitional period, highlighting its growth and progress to date.

"During the transition period, when privatization began and regional traditional markets in Croatia and BiH were lost, Vitaminka faced significant challenges. Back then, we had 340 employees and total revenue of 14 million DM. This year, we ended with total revenue of 57 million euros and 670 employees. In 2006, we opened a new factory, and in 2018, we acquired the Brillijant factory. Today, Vitaminka operates a third factory. In 2020, we purchased another factory in Kosovo," Naumoski explained.

According to him, success depends on how management addresses challenges and turns opportunities into achievements. Every product must undergo rejuvenation to stay aligned with market changes. Market strategies differ for domestic and foreign markets.

"The approach to markets varies. We have complete control over the domestic market—distribution, logistics, and transport are all handled internally. Foreign markets are managed differently. In Kosovo, Serbia, BiH, and Montenegro, we work with a single exporter-partner. In Croatia, we collaborate with 26 companies and all retail chains (Lidl, ETL). In Bulgaria, we have our own firm and operate directly. In Greece, we work similarly to Croatia. Cooperation with Greece has grown annually by 20-30%," Naumoski concluded.