INTERVELA D.O.O.KOPER-VICTORY SAILMAKERS

PRESENTED BY C.MANDHAKINI R.GOKILA JASMINE R.JAYALAKSHMI DINESH A.HARISH K.HARISH KUMANAN

ABOUT ZVONKO BEZIC AND ZELJKO PERVOIC

Zvonko Bezic and Zeljko Perovic both born in 1962

Zvonko completed degree in pedagogy and zeljko completed in maritime traffic engineering

In 1988 Zvonko employed as journalist and Zeljko as a sailing coach in galeb

In 1988 both started making sails on their own

THE AFFABLE ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMPANY

Got loan from a friend under the following conditions

should their enterprise survive for two years, they would not have to payback the loan

but should they go bankrupt they would have to repay the loan with interest

In 1989 they started manufacturing regatta sails

Then they simultaneously started to manufacture sails for larger boats and yachts

Contd………

In 1990 the two decided to go into sail business full time

They learned about computer –aided sail cutting and were also able to obtain information directly from sail manufacturers particularly from Slovenia and northern Italy

In 1990 they bought a personal computer and sail maker software from Autometrix,USA

MARKETING STRATEGY

COMPETITORS

Olimpic Trieste Ulmer Kolius North Monfalcone Seaway Portorose Zadro Trieste

THE PLANS

An increase in sales of 58 percent over the next three years (1994-1996).

Gradual increase in market share Promotion of the company and its

products Improvement in the internal

efficiency of the company and the quality of its products.

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHSPriceQuality

WEAKNESSMarketing CommunicationStandardizationDesign

OPPORTUNITIESSelling larger series to

companiesManufacturing sails for larger

yachtsTHREATS

Market contractionPoor advertising Essential technological changes

The formulation

PRODUCT Standardization design improvements following trends closely introduction and improvement in

after –sale services

PRICE Competitive prices with regard to

individual customers.

PLACE The extension of distribution

network.

PROMOTION Personal contacts Promotion by means of a first –class

Sailboat -Gaia Cube-in races Distribution of promotional materials

to sailboat owners Advertising in Slovenian nautical

magazine “Val”

Intervala was the first to introduce double batten pockets.

Some local rivals copied this soon. The quality of their sails and the

good publicity gained when the “Gaia Cube” sailboat won races contributed much to the sales results.

A DECISSION ON THE CUTTER AND SITUATION IN 1995

• 1995- Sales increased to USD 128,300.

• New investment to purchase plotter-cutter.

• Visited Mr.DeMartisu of the Olimpic sail.

• Intervela d.o.o. Koper, a small liability company

wholly owned by Zvonko Bezic and Zeljko

Pervoic.

• They manufacture sails for racing sailboats and

keelboats.

• 90% of sales due to the Victory brand name.

• 1994- six full time staffs- USD 86,300.

• 1995- five full time staffs- USD 128,300.

THE PURCHASE OF A CUTTER

• In 1995- purchased three software

packages.

• ProSail- American software program- easy

to use particularly for the designs.

• SMSW- American software program.

• Crain- French software program.

• First half of nineties they start to use SMSW.

THE ACQUISTION OF THE KUTIN SAIL LOFT WORKSHOP

The 2 partners look for additional

workspace and staff in 1996.

As kutin sail loft declared

bankruptcy, they acquire this

company and moved their old plotter

to Rijeka.

In may 2000 new operations began

in Croatia.

ELAN• Before bankruptcy, kutin made sails to Elan,

which is the biggest producer of sailboats in

Slovenia.

• Problem between kutin-elan is because of

quality problems and customer complaints.

• One of the Intervela owner said that 60% of the

complaints is concerned with time taken by

them to produce sails.

• Elan desired to have an inland supplier.

They contact Rado Pelajic for

manufacture sails for small zeta

betas, but that did not last.

Elan contacted Intervela and enter

into a contract.

A higher price was quoted in that

contract because of higher quality of

Victory demand.

The two partners think that “this

would be some business to fill in the

gaps- in winter time when the

market is flat”.

• Difficulties in payment occurred.

• In spite of 60-day payment term, it was received

after 120 days or later.

• An Elan 333 Cruising boat was received as payment

in 1999.

• In 1999 Elan faced bankruptcy.

• Elan sent a writing-off proposal to Intervela but

they didn’t accept.

• In 2001, Intervela continued to do business with

Elan but they receive payment before itself.

• Orders from Elan increased.

• Total sales of Intervela in 2000-USD 550,000

THE GAIA CUBE PROJECT Intervela made their first sails for the

racing boat Gaia Cube Consortium in 1995.

In the period 1995-1997 they were also members of the crew and won races at the famous sailing event Barcolana in the bay of Trieste.

In 1998, the Kosmina family played the leading role in the consortium.

The company made money by selling sails for smaller sailboats.

PENETRATING THE GLOBAL MARKET WITH FINN CLASS SAILS

At the end of 1997 and at the beginning of 1998

Intervela started to manufacture sails for the

Olympic one-man Finn sailboat.

Kuret is a renowned Croatian sailor and he won

the Olympic race in Athens in Feb 1998 by using

Victory sailboat.

Olympic champion Mateusz from Poland want to

test the new sail at the Pre-olympic regatta.

From 1991-2001, he was the number one sailor

in the world using that Victory sail.

When Intervela started to produce Finn class

sails, they also started to cooperate with the

University of Zagerb, Croatia, where the first

analyses of sailcloth were done.

A comparison of various materials was made by

analyzing 26 parameters..

This helps the company determine the quality

of materials and on the appropriateness of a

material for their products.

The three factors which help them to

penetrate into the Finn sail markets

are;

1) development of sails –

Intervela developed a team of top

level sailors and offers them special

conditions such as adjusting the sails

to their specific needs.

2)novelty in sail design

technology

3) analysis of sail quality

Intervela was growing into a globally renowned company with the Victory brand name.

The sails are now being sold all over the world namely;

CanadaUSABrazilAustraliaChina ItalySpainGreece, etc..

EUROPEAN CLASS

The company also succeeded in

penetrating the European Dinghy

class market.

In 1999, the company’s sails

dominated the Slovene, Croatian and

Italian market.

Also dominate some sales in Poland

and Belarus.

THE OPTIMISTIC CLASS

In 2001, Intervela started developing a sail for the

Optimistic youth dinghy.

The company entered into an agreement with Sime

Fantella, the 2000 World champion and with his

father who was a coach.

They test their sails during the preparation stage.

As they were satisfied with the sails they start to

use it in races.

PROMOTION AND MARKETING IN 2000 AND 2001 At the beginning Intervela relied primarily on

word of mouth advertising.

The company did formalized promotion and

advertising in 2000 and 2001.

They advertised in specialized journals;

“Val” and “Navtika” in Slovenia

“More” in Croatia

Intervela company appeared particularly in the

Slovenske newspapers “Primorske novice”

In the Croatian they appeared “ Novi list”

newspaper and in the Italian journals “Fare

Vela” and “Giornale della vela”.

In 1998 website of the company was

designed.

They increased the number of “hits” or visits

by publishing news from regattas and by

reporting the results online.

They enlarged the Victory logo and decided on

a red-white combination for the brand and

background.

The company created the clear identity for the

Victory brand name by using special material.

They contract one of the factory to have

special sailcloth exclusively for Victory sails.

That material is Kevlar and the usual black

thread in the cloth was exchanged for a red

one.

Many sailors believed that novelty in the Finn

class is a new sail, they did not know hey just

used the new material.

In sailing clubs, they discussed , in

particular how sails operate and

trimmed.

Digital photos were shown and their

presentation focused on sails and

technical advice on trimming.

VISIT TO THE USA IN AUTUMN 2000

In the fall 2000, Zvonko Bezic and Zeljko

Pervoic went to visit some of the important

factories producing sailcloth material on East

coast.

Zvonko explained “ when we started, we could

not even talk or visit such factories or talk to

such sailcloth material sales representatives….

Today sales representatives visit us atleast

every three months…”

Main changes in the market

In ten years of existence Intervela

has grown and become an important

factor in the sail market.

“There is no recession, many people

are buying yatchs, sails… the

market is growing… and Intervela is

growing faster”…..

STAFF, OUTSOURCING AND REORGANIZATION

Intervela had 15 regularly employed individuals

working on contracts in Slovenia and 5

individuals in Croatia.

They outsource some parts such as bags and

reinforcements, to suppliers in Koper.

A sub-contractor was given two sewing machines

The company introduced special plotter to work

efficiently.

They also employ through the Employment

Agency of Slovenia.

The friend who helped the two partners at first

decided after the bankruptcy of his relatively

large company in Croatia help to establish

standards

Also improved the organization of the workshop.

He analyzed how much a worker can do per

hour, how much time is needed for each

element of the production process and their

capabilities.