Company History
Delta Holding operates successfully in Serbia and directs its business plans to the international market. Achieving successful business results and building partnership relations with foreign companies, Delta Holding also achieves economic growth in Serbia.
1991.
Delta started working in Belgrade on February 4, 1991. The owner of the company, a businessman with great experience, and five young associates, started an adventure in which everything was uncertain.
In its first operations, Delta did not differ much from other private companies of the time. The income was brought by the import of various products. Very soon the company started to export: wood, lumber, and then mushrooms.
Although small-scale, these deals are significant, because they bring foreign currency inflow to the Company, at a time when foreign currency was hard to come by in the country. Foreign exchange enables new imports of consumer goods and the circle of business is closing more and more successfully. A serious step forward is the formation of DeltaBanka - the first private bank in Yugoslavia. The President of the Company shows that he has a vision, and Delta has the courage to enter previously unexplored areas.
Unfortunately, the international community introduced sanctions, the economic situation became increasingly difficult, and doing business abroad was almost impossible. For the first time, Delta demonstrated the skill of adapting to tectonic changes in the market: it shifted the focus of business abroad, to the countries of the former Soviet Union. In this way, it protected its business, but also its staff.
In Russia, Delta becomes the owner of the Baikal Cellulose Combine and, which will prove to be particularly important, the representative of the Nike company for the USSR market. It is the first large company with which Delta establishes a partnership relationship and the first brand with which it will achieve great success. Later, this kind of cooperation will become a rule in Delta's business.
1996.
On the market of the USSR, Delta and Nike recorded fantastic results. Nike accepts to leave the development of its own retail store to Delta, the share of Nike in the market grows, to later reach the previously unassailable Adidas.
In Serbia, the management makes another revolutionary decision: Delta Osiguranje, one of the few private insurance companies, is founded. Delta is developing cooperation with new global brands. It becomes an importer and representative of Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo cars and Beiersdorf cosmetics, i.e. the Nivea brand.
2000.
Key days for Serbia become key for Delta as well. With the change of government in 2000, business conditions also changed. The new climate is a signal for Delta to re-locate most of its business in its own country. The Baikal Cellulose Combine was sold.
Already at the end of 2000, Delta opened the first Maxi facility and thus began a new era in the company's business - retail development.
2001.
Maxi is growing at a rate unheard of in this industry. By the end of 2004, 57 facilities were opened, and Maxi became the largest retail chain in the country in terms of turnover. The development of a new format - the Tempo hypermarket - begins.
Delta Osiguranje wins an increasingly significant market share and establishes the first private pension fund. Delta Banka becomes the leading bank in Serbia.
2003.
Cooperation with the Pioneer company, one of the largest seed producers in the world, begins. One of the strategic turns is the sale of Delta Bank.
While many believed that banking will remain Delta's core business, the management with the President of the Company at the head estimates that the bank has reached its peak under Delta's auspices and that it is time to become part of the global banking network.
The sale of Delta Bank is one of the most successful in Central Eastern Europe. The fact that the new owner completely retained the existing staff, and that Banka Intesa is still the leader in the Serbian market, speaks best of the quality of the bank. For Delta, this means a fundamental change in the portfolio. The money obtained from this transaction is reinvested in new core businesses: retail trade continues to develop, a large investment cycle begins in agriculture and a new business is launched - the construction of shopping malls.
Delta becomes the owner of 5 large agricultural estates in Vojvodina. With the acquisition, food factories also become part of the system: the Yuhor meat industry, the Danubius flour and pasta factory, the production of appetizers, cereals and basic food products Florida Bel.
2007.
The first Delta City shopping mall was built, first of its kind in Belgrade, and soon after in Podgorica. Delta buys the Kontinental hotel in Belgrade.
Due to the delay in the construction of the University Village for the Universiade in 2009, Delta enters this project and builds the Belville settlement of almost 2,000 apartments and two office buildings in the shortest possible time.
2009.
The company officially becomes the largest in Serbia by revenue. Annual turnover reaches 3 billion euros.
2011.
Since 2011, another big turn in business has taken place: a period that we rightly call the new Delta. Delta Maxi retail was sold to the Belgian group Delhaize for a record 932.5 million euros. Delta's revenues from the sale of companies thus exceeded 1.5 billion euros.
2014.
Delta exits the insurance business by selling the remaining stake to its partner, Generali Group. The strategic business is still Delta Agrar, organized through 5 estates and food factories Yuhor, Danubius, Mioni and Florida Bel.
Along with the excellent operational business of the Delta City shopping malls and the Crowne Plaza Belgrade hotel, the Company is planning large investments in real estate: the construction of a new shopping mall, a new business headquarters, two high-class hotels and new business facilities.
2015.
The "Young Leaders" project for the employment of young professionals was launched. The company remains smaller in scope, but more efficient than ever, staffed and organizationally ready for new jobs.
2016.
The company continues to follow its business philosophy, and in February 2016 it sold the shopping centers "Delta City" in Belgrade and Podgorica to the African fund "Hyprop Investments" for a total of 202.8 million euros.
At the end of the same year, the Belgrade hotel Holiday Inn and BelExpo Center became part of the Holding, thereby confirming the Company's strategy to develop congress tourism in Belgrade. More than 2.5 million euros were invested in their renovation.
2017.
With the ceremonial handover of the keys in September 2017, Hotel InterContinental was officially opened, it is the only five-star hotel in Ljubljana and the tallest building in this city.
In the same year, the Delta Foundation presented the sculpture "From There to Here" to the city of Belgrade, which adorns the footbridge from Kalemegdan to the Sava Pier.
2018.
In 2018, the Company launched two new projects: Delta Business Incubator, which starts investing in the development of startup businesses, and Our Village, a project with which it wants to initiate the development of agriculture in underdeveloped areas and the reconstruction of villages in Serbia.
2019.
The spring of 2019 saw the opening of two shopping malls in just 7 days span - Delta Planet in Banja Luka and Delta Planet in Varna. Also, Delta decides to give students the opportunity to step into the business world already during their studies, and for the first time organizes Compass, an educational program intended for students.
In this year, the foundation stone for the new office building of the Holding - Delta House was laid.
2020.
The year 2020 was marked by two major events - the Company announced its entry into a new business, the regional e-commerce platform Ananas, and became the owner of the Sava Center, a Belgrade congress, cultural and business center connected by a glass walkway to the Crowne Plaza Hotel, which is already in her property.
2022.
In February 2022, the Ananas e-commerce platform officially started operating at the address www.ananas.rs. Delta Holding plans to invest about 100 million euros in the development of this project over a period of five years.
2023.
The year 2023 was marked by the opening of the reconstructed congress and business section of the Sava Centar, which saw an investment of over 118 million euros during the two-year renovation period. This positioning solidified Belgrade as an important destination for congress events capable of hosting over 5,000 attendees.
During this year, the Ananas platform expanded into the market of North Macedonia, and the hotel portfolio was enriched by the addition of Radisson Collection - Old Mill.
