Matej Srbljic (born 1952) is a Kresimirian entrepreneur and the co-founder of Kasa24, the nation’s largest private convenience store chain. The son of financier Vladi Srbljic, Matej is credited with transforming a loose cooperative of independent grocers into a corporate retail giant, alongside his sister Silvije.
Business Career
Recognizing in the late 1970s that his father’s agricultural brokerage business (NOAEC) was being squeezed out by state intervention, Matej pivoted the family fortune into retail. He saw an opportunity to serve the “night economy” of Novi Otonik’s shift workers, a demographic ignored by the state-run NaroMart, which closed at 6:00 PM.
In 1987, utilizing the inheritance from his father, he aggressively expanded the Kasa Cooperative, standardizing the brand and stocking high-margin goods like alcohol and foreign snacks. He successfully navigated the restrictive economic climate of the Sanjakorin era by operating in the “grey zones” of the law.
In 2008, he sold Kasa24 to Maj Holdings for a reported â‚1.5 billion. He currently resides in a luxury villa in Sinj.