Country Life – a success in wholesale and retail

Country Life is the biggest wholefood wholesaler in the Czech Republic. At the end of September 2008 the company opened its fifth store (80 m²) in Nenaèovice, 20 km south- west of the capital, which is also where the headquarters of the wholesale business is located. On the same site you also find the organic farm and an organic bakery. Country life has registered continuous growth, and in 2008 it achieved a growth rate of 7 % and turnover of approximately 11 million euros.
(Picture: Renovation of Country Life shop in Prague)
“We supply about 250 wholefood and health food stores in the Czech Republic plus several conventional retail food stores where organic products are becoming more and more popular,” says Otakar Jiranek, the managing director of Country Life. “Since the discounter Plus launched its big advertising campaign for its own brand BioBio last year, things have been happening and much more is now available in the conventional trade.”
(Picture: Country Life shop in central Prague)

He went on to say that other companies like Tesco, Billa and dm Drogeriemarkt had then extended their organic product ranges. Large-scale PR campaigns are familiarising the public with the issue of organic, that is far less popular in the Czech Republic than in most western European countries. The publicity created by the Ministry of Agriculture with the first nationwide PR campaign on TV and posters (picture on right) benefited the whole organic industry. “The intention is now to spend 1.2 million euros on further campaigns over three years to keep the topic in the public eye, but it all seems to have died a natural death,” comments Jiranek. His fear is that the money could disappear into thin air.

Country Life’s 54-year-old managing director thinks growth in the specialist trade and in the organic sector of the conventional trade is about the same. The wholesale business accounted for 80 % of company’s total turnover of 11 million euros in 2007. About 25 % of the turnover in the wholesale business comes from supplying Tesco, Ahold (Hypernova, Albert), Kaufland, Spar, Interspa, Billa (including Delvita) and Globus. Country Life sells 2000 lines, of which 1500 are food items. Of these, around 70 % are organic. Mr Jiranek points out that the proportion of organics has increased considerably in recent years, because the availability of organic goods in the country has improved. The range is very varied, but it does not include meat, sausage, coffee, tea or alcoholic products. The reason is that Country Life is run by Seventh Day Adventists, and this non-conformist religious sect rejects these products on ethical and health grounds. (Picture: milk and soya products on chilled shelves)

Some of the vegetables are produced by the company itself on two hectares of their 80 ha farm in Nenaèovice. The majority of bakery goods are also produced in the organic bakery on the farm (picture on right). Five employees use five tons of flour a month to produce 45 different sorts of bread, rolls and and other bakery goods. The new farm shop (with 80 m² of retail space), that was opened on 30 September 2008, is not only an organic food outlet serving the local population but also a showroom for the retail arm of Country Life’s business. Although the new warehouse for its wholesale trade became operational as recently as 2005, it is already no longer big enough. So 25 % of goods have to be stored in a warehouse 4 km away. “Our turnover from wholesale increased by 25 % thanks to the advertising campaigns in 2007, and the equivalent figure for 2008 is around 8 %.” Country Life currently employs 140 people in the two branches of its business.

In the spring of 2009, an information and advice centre is going to be set up on the top floor of the main store in Melantrichova Street. It will include a room where cookery courses, seminars and holistic natural medical counselling can be held. Behind the well known, dark green facade in Melantrichova Street lies a 50 m² wholefood shop, a natural drugstore with natural cosmetics, and a vegetarian restaurant (picture on left).

Once a year on the second weekend in September, a big harvest festival is held in Nenaèovice. Last year it was attended by 4000 people. Since chaotic traffic conditions prevailed the previous year, people were asked this time to come by bike, and all cyclists were rewarded with a little present. Even the youthfully dynamic mayor of Prague cycled with his wife to the Country Life premises (see picture).

Goods that have to be brought in from abroad present the wholefood wholesaler with big problems. Since in most cases there is no labelling in Czech, the company has to create labels, print them and put them on all goods. In particular, sticking new labels over the original labels takes up a huge amount of time. As can be seen in the photograph, two employees have to open the pallets and the packaging and stick a new label on every single item. Then all the items are re-packed on the pallets that are stored in the high-stack warehouse. This is a very expensive process that costs the company a lot of money, despite the fact that wages are low, at around 400–500 euros a month. Managing director Jiranek estimates additional costs of 15-20 cents per pack. He praises the firms Voelkel, Sonnentor and Provamel for labelling their products in Czech.

After studying agricultural engineering, Mr Jiranek worked for four years in Africa, before becoming a keen photographer. In 1990, he founded the company Country Life. “29 years ago I had my first experience of organic agriculture in the south of France and I became very enthusiastic about it.” The first, main phase of activity in the Czech Republic was at the beginning of the 1990s when a farm was purchased and converted to organic, and the two shops were opened in the centre of Prague (1991 and 1993). All this was supplemented by a bakery in 1993 and a training centre and lifestyle institute in 1994. 68 people are being trained via a distance learning programme, and 7 full-time students are following a ten-month course in Prague. “In those days we were all amateurs and we needed to learn the fundamentals in wholefood cuisine, massage, agriculture and also a holistic approach to life,” Mr Jiranek explains. For the 54-year-old it is important that he is seen as the founder and managing director but not as the owner of the company. Every two months a magazine “Prameny” (Source of Health) is issued with a print-run of 4,000 copies, half of which are sold by subscription.

At the beginning of the new millennium, when it became clear that the Czech Republic would become a member of the EU, the wholesale business was bursting at the seams. It was obvious that they would either have to find or to build new premises. They found a new site on the edge of Prague not far from a motorway exit, so that they can travel south- west to Nenaèovice by lorry or car in less than half an hour. The company was given building permission for the new site, and by the autumn of 2003 most of the buildings were occupied.

In the attractive, light administration building is a training room with a dozen computers. Between ten and sixteen students can take courses in holistic lifestyle. By now 60 health groups have been set up all over the country to disseminate the message of Christian and healthy living. Four lifestyle books and two cookery books that have been published in recent years transmit ideas and information far and wide.

Otakar Jiranek is involved on many fronts, and not just to do with Country Life. He is a member of the board of the Czech agricultural association Pro Bio and of KEZ, a regional certification body. He was also a member of the twenty-strong group preparing the way for a Czech action plan for organic agriculture. (Picture: Otakar Jiranek in the conference room)

Picture source: mainly made available by Country Life

Overview of Country Life’s five shops:

1991	First shop, restaurant, natural drugstore	15 Melantrichova Street, Prague 1	about 200 m²
1992	Second shop, restaurant	Jungmannova 1, Prague 1	about 100 m²
2006	Third shop	Ès, armady 30, Prague 6	100 m²
2006	Fourth shop	Bĕlohorska 80, Prague 6	200 m²
2008	Farm shop	266 01 Beroun 1, Nenaèovice 87	80 m²

Tip: http://www.countrylife.cz