Business News

In this week’s Business News: US real estate giant eyes Czech expansion; surveys show slowdown in warehouse and shopping developments; bed maker Linet seeks to crack US market; Plzeňský Prazdroj drops clean beer campaign; and betting chains combat match fixing.

US real estate giant launches on Czech market

Photo: Archive of Radio Prague

The world’s third largest real estate company, US-based Coldwell Banker, has announced it will launch operations in the Czech Republic. The move comes in spite of the continuing lull in local sales and the fact that other trans-Atlantic real estate companies already on the Czech market have pared back their original expansion plans. Coldwell Banker has ambitions to have between 80 and 100 franchise real estate offices up and running locally by 2012. US-based real estate giants Remax and Century 21 are already active in the Czech Republic.

Slowdown highlighted in warehouse and retail sectors

Surveys by two real estate consultancies this week have given a sense of the stalled market. One company revealed that no new warehouses were built in the country in the first quarter of the year. This is the first time that has happened since 2002. The Czech Republic had been a favourite warehouse site in central Europe because of its good road communications. A separate survey showed that more retail square meters will be unveiled this year in neighbouring Slovakia than the Czech Republic. The Czech slowdown in new shopping space is expected to be around 20 percent compared with 2009 and reflects a European trend. Slovakia, where large supermarkets were held back by local planning rules, is one of the few growth markets.

Bed maker Linet seeks foothold in US health sector

Czech hospital bed and equipment manufacturer Linet is attempting to crack the US market. The company, already a major exporter to European countries, has set up a US subsidiary with the aim of getting a foothold in the world’s biggest health market. The US hospital beds market is dominated by two local firms. Linet director Zbyněk Frolík was also this week selected Czech manager of the year in a competition run by the Economia publishing house.

Plzeňský Urquell drops clean beer campaign

Major brewer Plzeňský Prazdroj, maker of Pilsner Urquell, has cut short its campaign for ‘clean’ Czech beer. The brewer launched a campaign which portrayed itself in the forefront of traditional brewing techniques after tests showed that some local rivals used a synthetic hop extract to bolster the froth on pints of beer. The tests were called into question and the campaign appeared to backfire with the industry association angered that it was hurting the reputation of Czech brewers. It reportedly threatened to kick Plzeňský Prazdroj out of the association.

Betting companies get together football match fixing

The Czech Republic’s five biggest betting companies have got together to try and create a rapid reaction system against match fixing in football. The firms, together with the national football federation and police, have set up a network which would act as an early warning system when suspect bets are detected. The alarm would be triggered when three companies detect suspicious betting patterns concerning a match. Allegations have been made recently that top league games have been fixed. Investigations into an international betting syndicate being led by European football authority, UEFA, do not currently centre on the Czech Republic.