1. art and entertainment
2. shows and events
3. concert

Velebný’s elixir
Contipro is earning fortunes
from skin care and wound
repair agent hyaluronic acid
faCe To faCe pages 10–11
Material queen
67
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9 771803 454314
Monday, 20 April 2015
Madonna’s mighty marketing
machine is minting money
again, defying its own absurdity
feaTure pages 12–13
The Czech
bio rocket
Petr Weikert
I
t was a piece of business
that was rather telling.
Having at the end of
last year won antitrust
approval to enter the agri business, CPI Property Group,
owned by billionaire Radovan
Vítek, invested CZK 1.2bn in
acquiring 20,000 hectares
of land in northern Bohemia.
The essential point here is
that CPI was purchasing so
much land – including arable
– with one ‘winner’ in mind:
bio production.
Soil or gold
Spojené farmy [United
Farms] is a group that was
originally established to provide farmers with a market
for their bio produce. Vítek,
whose company has acquired
the land by buying this group,
has pledged to invest half a
billion crowns in its farms.
The transaction leaves CPI
with several appealing and
valuable assets. The first has
to be listed as the soil, since
the entrepreneur firmly believes its value will rise. Second
is an operating business that
employs 400 people. Next comes some valuable contracts:
beef, chicken and lamb, all
kosher, halal or bio certified, heads to grocery chains
across the EU as well as to
destinations beyond Europe’s
shores, namely to Turkey and
Arab countries. And finally
there is the bonus of agricultural subsidies. CPI has no
intention of parcelling out
the land to sell it as building
plots. “We are entering another industry.
Continues on page 8
Photo: Tomáš Novák
Of all the postcommunist countries,
the Czech Republic is
where the bio business
has really taken
off, even attracting
billionaires
2/3
news
President scrambles to save face
Igor Záruba’s notebook
Zeman will head to Moscow, but will after all steer clear of the controversial military parade
All will be revealed.
The Castle insists
criticism of the
president’s plans
will not influence his
decision-making
P
Army mulls
more CASA
planes
Pavel Otto
Europe’s Airbus Defence and
Space producer may reap an
additional billion crowns-plus
by way of the Czech military.
In spite of a police investigation, which found that the
army’s four existing CASA
military transport planes were
overpriced and that problems
surrounded its passive defence system against guided missiles, authorities are said to
be considering seeking two
additional aircraft.
According to E15 daily
sources, the total price for
the pair should not exceed
CZK 1.6bn.
Photo: ČTK
Zeman’s reasoning
appears to be: “Why
unfasten your belt when
the ford is still over the
hill?”
bers of both the coalition and
opposition have expressed
their disagreement with Zeman attending the planned
military parade. The president agreed on a bilateral
meeting with Robert Fico
during a telephone conversation, according to Ovčáček.
However, the Office of
the Slovak Government has
declined to confirm the mee-
ting. According to news site
Pravda.sk, Fico has said: “I
have said it repeatedly, and
will say it again that I will seek
to find the most appropriate
means to honour the victims
of WWII, and how to mark
the end of this conflict. With
regards to 9 May, my plans
will be revealed publicly in
good time, available to all interested parties, including the
media.” Meanwhile, Slovak
President Andrej Kiska has
previously stated he will not
be travelling to Moscow.
Photo: ČTK
resident Miloš Zeman
will not attend the
controversial military
parade in Moscow marking
the 70th anniversary of the
end of WWII. Instead, he will
meet with Slovak PM Robert
Fico, honouring the war dead
by laying a wreath during a
remembrance ceremony. The
plans were announced by the
president’s spokesperson Jiří
Ovčáček.
Both the Castle and the
Sobotka government have
argued that the precise programme of events on the president’s schedule – including
attendance, or not, at the parade – is not yet known. It all
sounds a bit like: “Why unfasten your belt when the ford is
still over the hill?” Naturally,
it is entirely possible that Zeman really will not be saluting Russian troops from a
Kremlin podium. Even so, the
president has already done
major harm to the interests
of the Czech Republic.
Ovčáček emphasised that
decisions made by Zeman
were not affected by any criticism directed at the Castle
over the Moscow trip. Mem-
Museum’s race
against time
A CZK 2.4bn reconstruction
of Prague’s National Museum
can finally go ahead, the
country’s anti-monopoly
authorities have announced.
The move follows a decision
from construction firm Strabag
not to appeal against its
disqualification from a tender
bid for the lucrative contract.
The museum, atop Wenceslas
Square, has been closed since
July 2011. Nonetheless, fears
remain that the museum will
fail to reopen in 2018, in time
for its 200th anniversary
A storm-proof ECB?
Photo: ČTK
Thinking of linking
Train links to Ostrava’s Leoš Janáček Airport, situated in Mošnov, are up and
running. The first connection has arrived at the airport’s station. Ostrava’s
airport is the first in the country to facilitate a regular train link
The European Central
Bank (ECB) has ostensibly
bid farewell to the Eurotower by moving into a
brand new HQ in the east of
Frankfurt. However, it has
actually retained a presence
in its old home, which, as it
happens has been sold by
its owners for EUR 480m
to IVG Institutional Funds.
After repairs, the building
will be used by the ECB’s
banking regulator division.
The sturdy “new” EUR 1.3bn
ECB seat is situated in a
45-storey skyscraper by the
River Main. Around 1,800
staff are found there, with
President Mario Draghi on
the 40th floor. Back in 2013,
Draghi famously stated:
“The ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve
the euro.” Two years on,
Greece is sliding towards a
referendum on whether to
stay in the eurozone at all.
A crack in Draghi’s concept,
yes – but not a crack in the
ECB per se. When the 2008
crisis erupted, ECB’s staff
were the very model of
calm. After holding its nose
during the subsequent debt
crisis, the bank de-stressed
the markets thereafter.
Should another storm come,
the odds are the ECB will
weather it. Irrespective of
which prime office space it
occupies.
Pavla Palaščáková’s notebook
Move to oust Prague
mayor fizzles
Jana Havligerová
The opposition TOP 09 and
Civic Democrat parties in
Prague’s municipal assembly
have failed in their bid to oust
City Mayor Adriana Krnáčová
(ANO). In a vote on whether to
permit impeachment proceedings, 27 assembly members
voted in the affirmative, 14 abstained and 14 voted against.
TOP 09 and ODS were joined
by the Pirate party, but still fell
six votes short.
Voting on the introduction
of a motion, whose sole clause
was the dismissal of Krnáčová,
was preceded by a passionate debate at Prague City Hall
lasting more than two hours.
Notably, not one assembly
member expressed support
for the beleaguered mayor.
But despite lacking support,
coalition members saw little
reason to oust the mayor over
accusations levelled by the opposition of illegal conduct. Specifically, Krnáčová is accused
of permitting her selection of
a lawyer to represent the city
Photo: Martin Pinkas
politics
Radek Pavlovič
Clear conscience. Prague’s mayor claims that she would not
intentionally break the law
in a case involving the rental of
Škoda Palace, owned by Copa
Retail, to be influenced by the
firm with whom the city is in a
legal dispute.
The case has even evoked
comment from PM Bohuslav
Sobotka (Social Democrat):
“I believe that Ms. Krnáčová
made a serious mistake. Nonetheless, Prague Social Democrats see no other alternative but the continuation of the
current coalition. Any other
choice would bring chaos, and
a slowing down in terms of
addressing the serious policy
issues facing Prague.”
Russia’s Stalin worship
In these tough times, the
Kremlin partly relies on
the backing of the Russian
Orthodox Church, whose
influence is growing. In
1989, 17 percent of Russians
claimed adherence to
this church; today it’s 68
percent. This has led to an
erosion of the supposed line
separating church and state.
As an example, an Orthodox
activist in the Kaliningrad
enclave recently opposed
a rock festival saying it
promoted alcoholism and
debauchery. Fortunately,
the church is also making a
positive difference. Hilarion
Alfeyev, one of its bishops,
has told Russia’s Stalin-worshipers to sober up and
visit mass graves where
opponents of the dictator
were buried. Clearly, the
Metropolitan of Volokolamsk
is unsettled by the growing
Stalin adoration and many
Russians’ willingness to
overlook his litany of sins.
A survey found about half
of Russians believe Soviet
economic advancements
justified his crimes. Some
experts guardedly express
the view that the adoration
of state power and disregard
for individual rights are
climbing to alarming and
dangerous levels in Russia.
E15 weekly, economic and business newsmagazine | www.e15.cz |
Tomáš Skřivánek, Euro E15 Division Director | Igor Záruba, Executive Editor,
[email protected]; Marian Hronek, Editor, [email protected] | Contacts: Zuzana Faltová,
Secretary | Call (+420) 225 276 461, | Postal address: Mezi Vodami 1952/9, 143 00
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4/5
business
Real estate market eyes ‘Chinese arrival’
up and down
Chinese investors seem poised to acquire Czech real estate assets worth billions of crowns
M
The streamed video provider is set to
exchange one share for 30 new ones
at the same value in a stock split. The
share title should thus become accessible to small retail investors. After the
announcement of its plan, the Netflix
share price rose five percent.
Janek Żyliński
Polish businessman
Photo: archive
ajor upheaval could be
in store for the Czech
real estate market.
For the first time, an investor
from China is set to begin acquiring property in the country
on a large scale. CEFC, one of
the largest private Chinese business and investment groups,
has earmarked hundreds of
millions of euro for real estate
acquisitions, particularly office
complexes in Prague, according to information available
to E15 daily. The group is said
to be specifically interested in
the new ArtGen office development recently completed
in the Holešovice quarter by
PPF Group. Former Social Democratic politician and current
President of the Joint CzechChinese Chamber For Mutual
Cooperation, Jaroslav Tvrdík,
has apparently been strongly
involved in negotiations for the
asset. None of the parties involved wished to comment.
“CEFC has a substantial sum
of money set aside for investments in the Czech Republic
and it is currently looking for
Reed Hastings
Netflix CEO
New territory.
Chinese
investors have
been pouring
money into
European real
estate for about
two years now,
but they have
yet to do so in
a significant
fashion in the
Czech Republic
real estate
Daniel Novák
the best way to make allocations. Real estate is a rational
choice,” said one source. It was
CEFC that before the end of
last year concluded an agree-
ment for the acquisition of a
one-third stake in J&T Banka,
for approximately CZK 20bn.
The Chinese are also interested
in the tourism and agricultu-
re sectors and in technology
companies.
Prague is to act as CEFC’s
springboard for expansion further afield across Europe. The
brand new ArtGen is expected
to include the headquarters
of prominent e-shop Mall.cz
among other key tenants, but
it is still looking for takers for
a considerable proportion of
its office space. As such, the
office complex is not yet a
typical acquisition target for
investors specialising in revenue-generating real estate.
Some observers say that the
Chinese are likely to locate
some of their compatriots,
who are also looking to expand to the Old Continent, in
ArtGen.
Czech bonds
offer below-zero yield
Jaroslav Bukovský
The Czech Republic has started
borrowing capital at negative
yields. Its two-year state bond
yield has sunk below zero to the
lowest point in Czech financial
history. It means that a creditor
buying such a bond will have to
pay a yield of 0.1 percent for the
privilege. Trade in both threeand four-year state bonds has
also started to fall into negativeyield territory. The state’s first
‘negative’ bonds auction cannot
be far away.
The Czech Republic has
Photo: Profimedia
become the second non-euro
Lamborghini
turns
the
ignition
on
Prague
dealership
country in the world whose
government has the luxury of Italian sports car maker Automobili Lamborghini reckons it can shift from 10 to 15 vehicles a year in the Czech Republic. Last year, six
using negative rates in its bond people were registered as buyers of one of the luxury cars in the country, while in the previous year there were five. The figures were
financing. The first nation to outlined by Automobili Lamborghini President and CEO Stephan Winkelmann during the opening of a dealership and showroom in
enjoy the advantage was Swit- Prague’s Smíchov quarter
zerland.
Photo: ČSA
State to entirely exit airline
The state-controlled Český Aeroholding intends to divest its remaining 20 percent stake in Czech
Airlines [ČSA] following the acquisition of major stakes in the national carrier by Korean Air and
Czech private airline Travel Service. “The state should not own companies that operate in such a
highly competitive sector,” said Václav Řehoř, CEO of Český Aeroholding. A savage battle for the
shares in the struggling airline can hardly be expected
Investors hungry for
returns turn to shares
Jaroslav Bukovský
The biggest wave of investors
in two years was experienced
by the Prague Stock Exchange
(PSE) during the first quarter
of this year. Shares with a value of 47 billion crowns were
traded. The last time the floor
of the PSE saw such a level
of speculative trading was
back in the autumn of 2012.
The just-completed quarter,
however, saw bourse buyers
only pursuing a small number
of listed companies. Around
90 percent of trades concerned bets on the movement of
just three of the 14 available
shares.
“The record low interest rates and low yields on the bond
market have forced investors
to look around for assets
which promise better rates
of profit, so they’ve turned to
shares,” said Jiří Kovařík, a
PSE spokesperson.
The decisive volume of
trading on the PSE is in the
shares of energy giant ČEZ,
Komerční banka and Erste
banking group. There was
higher investor interest in
these titles thanks to a combination of surprising news.
“The energy title was assisted by an unexpectedly positive economic outlook, and
Komerční banka by a record
dividend, while the Austrian
title [Erste] has retreated from
unfriendly policies of the Hungarian government towards
banks,” said Aleš Prandstetter, Head of Research at ČSOB
Asset Management.
Maintaining the higher investor interest in the stock market will be a tall order this year
Maintaining the higher
investor interest in the
stock market will be a
tall order this year given
the splitting up of the O2
telecoms operator
given the splitting up of the O2
telecoms operator, which may
narrow the number of shares
available on the bourse.
“In connection with the
division of the company one
can expect a decline in the
share price of its traded part
and at least a partial fall in the
title trading volume,” said Jiří
Zendulka, an analyst at equity
house BHS.
A150001281
Why are innovation leaders better
than others? Key success factors of
innovation management
Economic performance indicators, industry
comparisons and stock price development
clearly exhibit that innovation leaders
outperform their peers. The innovation
challenge in order to “out-profit” the
competition is to do the right things fast
and efficiently. However, in order to meet
such innovation challenge rigorous and
comprehensive innovation management
must be put in place. Excellent innovation
management requires capabilities in all
dimensions of the A.T. Kearney “House of
Innovation”.
Success factor #1: Innovation leaders
have a clear innovation strategy and
rigorously manage portfolio of innovations.
They create transparency, have consistent
approach towards identification of
innovation opportunities and translate
them into actions.
Success factor #2: Innovation leaders
put more effort in analyzing market,
consumer and technology dynamics to
better understand future challenges and
opportunities to enable effective decision
The Pole with an aristocratic title – a
purported prince – who has long lived
in London took umbrage at impertinent
statements of Nigel Farage, leader of
the anti-immigration UKIP party, and
challenged him to a sword duel in Hyde
Park.
a dv e r t i s i n g
making. They have strategic scenarios
prepared before such trends come into
practice.
Success factor #3: Innovation leaders do
not invest more in innovation - they invest
better. There is proof of limited correlation
between the amount of R&D investment
and profitability. Identification, exploration,
evaluation and prioritization of innovation
search fields is part of leaders’ strategy.
Success factor #4: Innovation leaders
involve a broad range of internal and
external stakeholders and experts into
the idea generation process to take
fast decisions. Significant involvement
of suppliers, customers and other
stakeholders is a major pattern compared
to average.
Success factor #5: Innovation leaders
put processes and governance structures
reflecting specific steering challenges of
the committed growth directions in place;
they also instill the right cultural mindset.
They simply shape the world before the
world shapes them – even if difficult
transformation work is needed.
6/7
If it ain’t broke...
Jana Havligerová’s political diary
The entire
Cabinet should
take a year-long
sabbatical – that
way unnecessary
policies won’t
risk harming the
recovery
Red faces everywhere
fundamental logic behind the
measures.
Finding the causes for our
economic revival will help
us to formulate the correct
policies going forward. While no risk currently exists of
overheating, further unwarranted central bank currency
interventions could potentially rock the fragile boat. The
strong fall in unemployment,
coupled with the fact that
February saw Czech retail
sales climb 6.3 percent (against a eurozone fall of 0.2 percent), does not suggest that
fears of deflation are stron-
A slowing of wage growth levels helped
keep in check labour costs, thus making
Czech output more competitive in foreign
markets, evidenced by a growth in our
exports
gest that the Czech economy is
now on a remarkably healthy
footing, surprising even the
optimists. In trying to find the
reasons for this, we are forced
to credit the solid foundations
created by the much-loathed
crisis-era austerity policies of
the former Nečas government
(with Miroslav Kalousek as finance minister). Or, we can
thank the positive effects of
central bank Governor Miroslav Singer’s weakening of the
crown. Hard to say which of
these things would be tougher
for Zeman to admit to, since
he considers both policies to
new motorway construction.
Czech companies are working
the way they are supposed to.
For them, the crisis served
as an opportunity to test out
the scope of opportunities for
lowering costs and dependence on credit. And a slowing
of wage growth levels helped
keep in check labour costs,
thus making Czech output
more competitive in foreign
markets, evidenced by a growth in our exports. Naturally,
the much debated central bank
currency interventions have
also played a role, in spite of
persistent doubts over the
gly founded. The immediate
effects of increased VAT on
demand have long since faded,
perhaps putting into question
pre-election promises of the
governing parties to not further tinker with this tax. Similar fears exist that corporate
taxes could go up. At present,
low corporate taxes are one
reason for the speedy recovery of private investment in
the Czech Republic. In other
words: if it ain’t broke, don’t
fix it. In fact, right now, the
less the government does, the
better chance the recovery has
of continuing.
liar, “tunneller”, crook and
symbol of corruption. The
accusations, made during
a session of the Lower
House of Parliament, were
then echoed by Jaroslav
Faltýnek, Chairman of the
ANO MPs group, when he
declared: “People here
routinely lie. I believe
that we have all become
used to this, and that it
has become standard to
do so in our Parliament.”
Whether by this he
includes all past and future
statements by his own
boss Babiš was not made
clear.
Reconstruction of
the historic, run-down
National Museum building
atop Prague’s Wenceslas
Square can finally begin.
Really. The very building
which has lain vacant since
2011. After four years,
the winning tender bidder
has finally been affirmed
by the anti-monopoly
authorities: an association
called M-P-I Národní
muzeum (comprising
Metrostav, Průmstav and
Andrej Babiš, Finance
IMOS Brno). They can now
Minister and head of ANO, set to work. The museum
has branded his ministerial is set to re-open in 2018.
predecessor Miroslav
We’ll believe it when we
Kalousek (TOP 09) as a
see it...
joke
ad ve r ti s in g A151003046
P
resident Miloš Zeman
isn’t much interested in
numbers and facts. At least by steering clear of them he
doesn’t risk misinterpreting
the ever-improving indicators
pertaining to the Czech economy. The most recent manufacturing and construction
data, and the somewhat older
unemployment figures and
retail sales numbers, all sug-
have been destructive. But the
data suggests no other possible
conclusions.
It is entirely evident that
Czech economic growth is fuelled by private sector activity,
not state business. One notable
figure is the roughly 20-percent increase in orders for
Czech-produced automobiles.
Notably, this sector received
no state subsidies during the
crisis. The construction sector is seeing a revival thanks to
civil engineering projects, and
an increase in new apartment
construction, not millions of
tonnes of cement poured into
President Miloš Zeman
will after all not partake
in May’s controversial
Red Square military
parade that will mark
70 years since the end
of WWII. He will instead
be holding Moscow talks
with Slovak PM Robert
Fico, according to Prague
Castle spokesperson Jiří
Ovčáček. However, the
Slovak PM’s Office has to
now failed to confirm such
a meeting. Hopefully this
doesn’t mean yet another
diplomatic embarrassment
is brewing – for example,
one similar to when the
Czech president returned
from a visit to China
claiming that the son
of President Xi Jinping
was a big fan of Czech
animated character Krtek
[Little Mole]. It turned
out the Chinese president
actually has no children.
For Slovaks, the greatest
wound comes from the
fact that Ovčáček revealed
the Slovak PM would at all
be visiting Russia for the
celebrations.

Photo: ČTK
Pavel
Páral
HUGO BOSS International Markets AG Phone +41 41 72 73 800 www.hugoboss.com
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8/9
cover story
The Czech
bio rocket
The acquisition brings us,
among other things, an operational agricultural company
that employs more than 400
employees in economically disadvantaged areas and tends to
8,500 cows, 3,000 sheep and
thousands of chickens, doing
everything with bio quality,”
said Martin Němeček, CEO of
CPI Property Group.
Looking at the move, some
might be asking after the mental
health of a man who is one of the
wealthiest Czechs, with assets
worth CZK 55bn under his control. But the numbers and trends
do stack up. They are squarely
behind the investment decision. The most recent statistics
sourced by Euro magazine from
new agriculture ministry reports
seem to clearly demonstrate that
CPI is working with solid reasoning. Putting aside the acquisition of a substantial acreage of
farmland – it does in fact exceed
the size of the Principality of Liechtenstein – which could be
quite advantageous alone, the
bio business itself is clearly on
an upwards trajectory. The area
of land used in environmentally
friendly agriculture in the Czech
Republic incessantly increases:
the 281,000 hectares bio-farmed
in 2006 had grown to 494,000
hectares by last year. The growth of the market is also shown
in the increasing number of
bio farm enterprises, jumping
from 963 in 2006 to 4,023 in
2014. And, according to the agriculture ministry, the value of
the bio market reached some
CZK 2.7bn in 2013, of which
CZK 1.9bn worth of output was
country has over other “new”
EU member states. While about
five percent of agricultural land
is used for bio farming in Poland,
the share stands at almost 12
percent in the Czech Republic.
“Producers expect the market
to grow by about 10 percent
in the [near] future,” said Petr
Manda, Executive Director of
It is sad to say, but without
the subsidies we would
not manage. The pressure
would be enormous
consumed domestically (marking a year on year increase of
CZK 100m), with the remaining
CZK 750m earmarked for export. “Exports are also showing
a moderately increasing trend.
In 2011, the value of bio produce
exports was CZK 570m, a figure that grew to CZK 750m in
2013,” added Hynek Jordán, a
spokesperson for the ministry.
Hopes of further growth in
the Czech Republic are fuelled
by trends in the “old” EU countries where demand for bio food
keeps building. Another positive factor is the advantage this
Corporate Banking at ČSOB.
His department recently published the results of a survey into
the expectations of businesses in
the industry.
Green fertilisers
But enough of the positives.
The bio business, worth nearly three billion crowns, is
actually bumped up by some
stimulating financial “fertilisers”, to use some farm-speak.
And no-one really says a word.
It is important to note that a
bio farmer receives almost
CZK 2,500 per hectare that
A subsidised bio expansion
Bio farm and bio land acreage increases in the Czech Republic
Year
Number of farms
Land acreage
% of total agri and fund
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
963
1318
1946
2689
3517
3920
3934
4060
4023
281 535
312 890
341 632
398 407
448 202
482 927
488 658
493 394
494 405
6.61
7.35
8.04
9.38
10.55
11.40
11.46
11.68
11.70
Source: ČSÚ
Photo: Shutterstock
Continued from page 1
is left to its own devices, or as
the proper description goes
“is maintained as permanent
pasture”. That is why the bio
acreages are increasing. A traditional farmer receives less
for their pastures: just under
CZK 2,000, if they combine
bio and non-bio farming. A
hectare of land used to grow
bio vegetables, meanwhile, is
subsidised with as much as
CZK 15,500 – and that is really something even compared
to subsidies received by traditional farmers. And the story
continues. A hectare of bio orchard is worth CZK 24,500 in
EU Common Agricultural Policy subsidies. The same amount
goes to bio winegrowers. Although any discerning wine
producer will tell you that
there is no difference in the
taste of the final product, these
subsidies have, for instance,
resulted in Spain’s acreage of
bio vineyards exploding by 394
percent since 2003. Spain now
has 81,000 hectares of bio vineyards. In France, the rate of
increase over the same period
was 299 percent.
Yet, even such mighty growth is not enough to keep the bio
bandwagon rolling. A threeyear surge in both the number
of bio farm enterprises and the
acreage of bio land has come
to a halt. “The reason for this
reversal in the trend was the
withdrawal of subsidies for
starter bio farmers,” said spokesperson Jordán. However,
the new budget period has
brought back subsidies for “bio
CZK 2.7bn
was the value of the Czech
bio food market in 2013
CZK 1.95bn
was spent by Czech
consumers on bio produce
in 2013
juniors” and the agriculture
ministry has already recorded
increased interest. There have
been 50 applications since the
start of the year. “It is sad to
say, but without the subsidies we would not manage. The
pressure would be enormous.
We would have had to scrap
subsidies for others as well
but then the prices of bio products would soar. The costs
of production are still considerably higher than for other
agricultural products,” said
Kateřina Nesrstová, a manager at bio farmers’ association
PRO-BIO.
Among the new member
states, the Czech Republic
maintains its lead in the bio business. The country’s position
has been helped in recent years
by farmers who are striving in
increasing numbers to process
their produce within their own
facilities to sell it “at the farm
gate”. The agriculture ministry
says there are approximately
200 such farmers. These farmers have thus opened a new
path to the market, basically
having had their hand forced
by grocery chains who proved
reluctant to buy their produce,
The country’s bio industry has been helped
in recent years by farmers who are striving
in increasing numbers to process their
produce within their own facilities to sell it
“at the farm gate”
mainly due to the pricing. And
this is where the problem really
lies. There are virtually no big
companies in this country that
would process bio produce and
act as strong and sufficiently
reliable partners for the chains. “What this leads to is, for
example, milk of bio quality travelling to Germany from where
it returns in processed form or
in the form of dairy products
that arrive at Czech grocery
chains which have contracts
with the foreign suppliers,” explained Nesrstová. According
to her, Czech bio farmers and
farmers in general also suffer
from a bloated bureaucracy,
which is set to bloat some more
once the state completes subsidy alterations. “I’m afraid that
farmers will drop the bio label
even if their products comply.
It is just not worth the amount
of paperwork required. There
are even requirements for reporting precipitation and infestations – the farmers would
be unable to do anything else
other than fill in forms,” she
added. But shouldering such
burdens will certainly prove
easier for weighty companies
like United Farms who can afford administrative staff.
10/11
face to face
Vladimír Velebný:
Imagine a dish brush – that is
hyaluronic acid. If you dip it
into a noodle soup, some of the
noodles will knot themselves
around the brush. Those
noodles are collagen, and that is
how human tissues are created
Wonder drug
fountain
Biosport. We created a line of around
five products. They were simple recipes, but totally new to the Czech Republic, and so sales were quite strong. We
mixed them in a second-hand school
kitchen blender, and used second-hand
scales to weigh the ingredients. All this
cost only a few tens of thousands of
crowns. The end results were good, but
the profit margins were relatively small.
The next level was to go into cosmetics.
Petr Horký
This required greater investments into
technologies, but also yielded higher
Contipro was founded 25 years ago. Back profit margins.
then, it produced food supplements for
bodybuilders. Today, the firm, situated So all these efforts were designed to
in the foothills of the Orlické Mountains, gain capital to climb the next rung of
is one of the world’s leading producers the ladder?
Yes. Right from the start I had the
of hyaluronic acid, used to help repair
wounds and cultivate artificial tissues. biopharmaceutical market in my sights.
“Gradually the large firms are realising As early as September 1990, we rented
we are not for sale. And as we expand, out laboratories in the Cotton Research
we are becoming a force to be reckoned Institute at Ústí nad Orlicí, in which
with,” says Contipro founder Vladimír we began to produce hyaluronic acid.
When we developed our own bacterial
Velebný.
line we required fresh funds for mass
You are a trained biochemist and a gra- production. Back then, I managed to
duate of the Charles University Medical persuade the manager of a ČSOB bank
Faculty. So how did you become an en- that our project was a worthy one. And
so we received a credit line of one miltrepreneur?
Back in the 1980s, I was able to spend lion Swiss francs. With this, we pursix months at a university in Paris. I was chased large fermenting units and then
able to see there how words always embarked upon mass production.
translated into deeds. So when I later
returned, I tried to utilise the results of How did you manage to persuade the
my research for practical ends. I was bank?
bothered by the standard approach of
I visited a branch in Prague and battwriting up a report and shoving it in the led my way in to see the manager in
library archive, with the research then his office. Sure the guy wasn’t exactly
being basically forgotten. I wanted to young, and had lived under commusomehow help people. I began to study nism for many years, but he was willing
literature related to hyaluronic acid, and
as soon as it was possible following the
[1989] revolution, I founded a production
team. This happened as early as March
[1990], by which time the new laws for
establishing private businesses hadn’t
yet even been finalised.
What was the first product you came
up with after establishing your business?
The first was food supplements for
sportspersons – protein drinks called
Given your success, are other companies trying to buy you up?
When times are tougher, they try
to buy us out once a quarter. At other
times, it is once a month. Chinese,
Americans, Koreans... one Danish
firm even tried twice. But they are
gradually realising that Contipro reOver the past 25 years have your jects discussions regarding a potenpharmaceutical operations caught up tial sale. But given our growth, we
are becoming a force to be reckoned
with the cosmetics part?
Not yet. Cosmetics represent rou- with.
ghly 50 percent of our production;
around 40 percent is pharmaceuticals; and around 2-3 percent is the
production of instruments to create
nanofibres. However, pharmaceuticals are our fastest growing division.
to hear out new ideas, and to take a
new approach in his decision-making.
And so we got the money. That was
some time at the end of 1991 or early
1992. In those days, there was still a
sense of [post-communist] elation in
the air, and there was great help for
new businesses.
Could you explain the merits of this
acid in layman’s terms?
It exists naturally throughout our
bodies. It lubricates our joints. We also
have it in our eyes, and the substance helps them maintain their shape.
Imagine a brush used to scrub dishes.
That is hyaluronic acid. If you dip the
brush into a noodle soup, some of the
noodles will begin to knot themselves
around the brush. Those noodles are
collagen, and that is how human tissues
are created.
Does hyaluronic acid form the core of
your business?
Yes. We initially sold it raw, but
then we started to modify it. For
example we’ve used it to produce
hydrogels, nanofibres, micro-films
and so forth. Some of it is used for
wound repair, some as a carrier for
medicines, some for tissue engineering.
Before mass production came about,
how was the acid produced?
Initially, it was extracted from the
combs of roosters. A non-castrated
rooster possesses a large red comb,
but if the animal is slaughtered and
the blood is removed from the comb,
then it lightens and it is now largely
full of hyaluronic acid. We used to do
this using an ordinary rubber roller
for straightening out photographs. Indeed, there even used to be a rooster
farm along the Czech-Slovak border
for this purpose, but production levels
were very small. And then production via micro-organisms appeared. We
decided that this was a more viable
option.
We mixed our protein drinks using
a second-hand school kitchen
blender, and used second-hand
scales to weigh the ingredients.
All this cost only a few tens of
thousands of crowns
Photos: Hynek Glos
A
cosmetics and
pharmaceutical
entrepreneur
tells of his tough slog
to the top
with Czech firms, and that was why they
had brought along a man to check what
we were saying among ourselves. The
audit ended well. They had with them a
kind of stern lady with orange hair. To
this day, she remains one of our most
important distributors.
Let us return to 1991-1992. You have
a few kilos of hyaluronic acid in your
hands. What does it look like, and what
can you do with it?
Yes, I had three kilograms of a kind
of white powder in a can normally used
for sports supplements. I jumped into
my car and headed for Germany. I was
held at the border for six hours while
customs officials carried out an analysis
of the substance I was transporting.
When they realised it wasn’t a narcotic,
they finally let me go. But they never
actually managed to determine what
the chemical was – back then, such
things weren’t easy to do. I then headed
for a number of companies, which I had
researched.
ly had some success with a company
called Rahm. They said: “We will buy
this. How much do you have?” They
bought three kilos, and then said they
would visit us for a stock audit. And
so they did. That was very interesting.
They examined everything, nodding
their approval. The audit was over and
How were you welcomed?
suddenly one of them began to speak
They laughed when they heard I had in Czech. They apologised, explaining
come from Czechoslovakia. But I final- they’d had previous bad experiences
Do you have a flagship product?
The product of ours, which ordinary shoppers might come across in
their pharmacies, is a solution called
Hyiodine, often nicknamed “magic
honey”. It can repair even highly infected wounds. But we are also very
proud of our 4SPIN instruments,
which create nanofibres. We entered this sector only last year. Our
instrumentation is patented, and we
have sold four units – two in the Czech
Republic, one in China, and one in
Botswana. They are being bought by
research institutes and universities.
But your dream, I understand, is tissue production. Does that mean organs to order?
Not organs. That is very complicated.
Organs require blood and oxygen. Furthermore, one must ensure the organ is
capable of carrying out its prescribed
functions. But we are trying to make
synthetic cartilage. The results so far
look promising. We are cooperating
on this with a university professor at
Motol Teaching Hospital.
Vladimír Velebný (65)
Studied biochemistry at Brno’s Masaryk University before
becoming a researcher at the
Charles University Medical Faculty in Hradec Králové. Founded
Contipro in early 1990. Based
in a factory in Dolní Dobrouč
in northern Moravia, the firm
produces medicines, cosmetics,
and also nanofibre production
instruments. Last year, turnover
was CZK 470m. Contipro employs
245 people and is one of the
world’s chief global producers
of hyaluronic acid. This year, the
company was a finalist in the
Czech Entrepreneur of the Year
competition.
12/13
feature
Material Girl
T
Daniel Deyl
By the end of the 1970s, Western popular music was ripe
for an earthquake. With Elvis
Presley, John Lennon and many
other 50s and 60s icons dead;
with Bob Dylan gone electric;
with the Rolling Stones marching on past relevance into
caricature; and with most 70s
rock acts stale and spiralling
into self-destruction, new artists were waiting in the wings
to pounce.
Enter a new breed of superstars able to rake in mega-bucks.
Perhaps the most notable 80s
superstar was Michael Jackson, remodelled as a solo artist
following his exploits with the
Jackson Five. But while Jackson’s talents were rooted firmly
in singing and dancing, his chief rival, namely Madonna, was
more of an all-round marketing
phenomenon. After all, her artistic talents were considerably more limited. But Madonna
possessed an undeniable gift for
placing herself, her style, and
her music, dead centre within
1980s culture.
In a 2006 column in The Independent entitled The Genius
of Madonna, feminist author
Germain Greer wrote: “The
true art form of our time isn’t
music or dance or painting or
poetry; it’s marketing.” Greer
also saluted Madonna’s impeccable ability to reinvent
herself – but also sounded a
caustic warning that of late,
the increasingly precocious
star appeared to be losing her
touch.
Marketing chameleon
Madonna started out wanting
to be a professional dancer.
At 21, she left the University
of Michigan School of Music,
Theatre & Dance to try her
luck in New York. Allegedly
she only had 35 bucks in her
pocket. But Madonna soon
discovered that the world of
dance offered few prospects
for fame and fortune, save for
the most talented performers.
Interestingly, several years later, the now-famous star auditioned anonymously for the
movie version of the musical A
Chorus Line, but was rejected
by director Richard Attenborough for a lack of talent.
One avenue which the young
beauty explored was nude modelling. In 1979, Madonna posed for Czech photographer
Martin Schreiber for a series
of black and white portraits.
“She was quiet and malleable;
she did what you asked her to
do,” the photographer later
told Radio Prague.
But it was music that finally offered real prospects for
stardom. A series of romantic
entanglements with industry
insiders undoubtedly helped to
advance the career trajectory
of young Miss Ciccone. First
she joined the band The Breakfast Club, before ultimately
deciding to market herself as
a solo artist, assisted by her
then boyfriend, songwriter and
music producer Stephen Bray.
Madonna’s phenomenal rise
started with the release of the
single Everybody in 1982. Two
years later, her second album
Like a Virgin ended up selling a
breathtaking 25 million copies
worldwide.
Madonna in numbers
» Born Madonna Louise Ciccone on 16 August, 1958.
» Has issued 13 albums since 1983, the latest being Rebel
Heart released in March.
» Has embarked on 10 major concert tours since 1985.
» As of 2014, her tours had yielded USD 1.14bn.
» Appeared in 26 feature films; the song You Must Love Me
from 1996’s Evita won an Oscar.
» A 2012 half-time appearance at the US Super Bowl
garnered a record-setting 114 million viewers – more
than the match itself.
» Has served as the face of such brands as H&M, Dolce &
Gabbana and Macy’s.
» Signed a USD 120m deal with promoter Live Nation in
2007.
Of her age
Madonna’s earliest recordings
demonstrated an uncanny
musical ability to tune in to an
ascendant electronic early 80s
style with its heavy synthesisers
and automatic drumbeats. Add
to that her embrace of New Romantic fashions – heavy eye
make-up, oodles of hairspray,
underwear on the outside. The
style and attitude was perfectly
captured by one of Madonna’s
rare well-received film performances in 1985’s Desperately
Seeking Susan. Sassy, outrageous, overtly sexual – she was
the “in” trendsetter to Rosanna
Arquette’s “square”.
Madonna’s well-oiled showbiz operation coincided with
the heyday of music videos as
the main promotional tool for
single releases (MTV began
broadcasting in 1981). But for
all her creative successes, Madonna’s shock value remains
her chief currency. In 1989, the
singer courted her first major
controversy through her alleged bastardisation of Christian
iconography. After signing a
USD 5m endorsement contract
with Pepsi, Like a Prayer, the
title song of her fourth album,
debuted via a two-minute commercial for the soft drinks firm
(a relatively new gimmick at
the time). The following day
a separate video for the song
aired on MTV for the first time.
Featuring burning crosses and
Madonna smooching Christ
himself, it caused immediate
Vatican outrage. Religious
groups called for a boycott,
and Pepsi ultimately withdrew its own spot for the song
(but honoured its payment to
Madonna). A typically lucrative
stunt for the artist. And yet,
Photos: Reuters
he Queen of Pop has a new
album under her belt, and is
preparing to set off on yet
another accompanying world tour,
including two concerts in Prague. The
indefatigable one-woman business
marches on ad absurdum
Icon, provocateur,
businesswoman,
sex-symbol.
Madonna is an eternal
marketing chameleon
for all the anger, at this point
critics still found much to like
about Madonna’s music.
In 1990, she released a video
for her new single Justify my
Love, which was banned by
MTV for featuring explicit bisexuality and sadomasochism.
Around the release of her fifth studio album Erotica in
1992, Madonna crudely noted:
“When I get down on my knees
it is not to pray.”
As the attention-grabbing
gimmicks grew, it only underscored that since her peak
popularity in the late 1980s,
Madonna had struggled to
remain musically relevant. By
the early 1990s, Madonna was
already being branded in many
A series of romantic entanglements with
music industry insiders undoubtedly
helped to advance the career trajectory
of young Miss Ciccone
circles as a “has been” and even
a laughing stock. Her highly
explicit 1991 documentary film
Truth or Dare exposed the
artist to hitherto unheard-of
derision. For a 1992 soft porn
book entitled Sex, Madonna
conceived a titillating aluminium-plastic cover wrapper.
Costing an unheard of USD 50
a piece, the book nonetheless
sold half a million copies in a
mere week. Inside the book,
Madonna observed: “A lot of
people are afraid to say what
they want. That’s why they
don’t get what they want.” The
quote perfectly underscores
Madonna’s image as a sexually aggressive starlet, whose
greatest thrill appears to be
from the glow of the limelight
itself.
The Madonna
Madonna Ciccone was born to
a strongly Catholic family, her
surname coming by way of her
Italian father. Psychologists will
no doubt derive analytical fodder
from the early death of Madonna’s mother, also Madonna, in
1963. But while fellow Catholic
stars like Sinéad O’Connor have
battled for women’s reproductive rights and against child
abuse by the Church, Madonna
rebelled in an altogether baser
manner: “Crucifixes are sexy because there’s a naked man on
them!” she is reported as saying.
Simply put, O’Connor’s rebellion against the Vatican cost her;
Madonna’s has proved highly
profitable.
Madonna is listed as a writer, or co-writer, of many of
her greatest hits. She also plays
a major role in how her songs
and videos are produced. Such
control is one of the artist’s trademarks, enabling Madonna to
change her image to match evolving trends. A dance music relaunch ensued with 1998’s Ray of
Light; for her next album Music
(2000), Madonna re-branded
herself as a folk-country singer.
Both of these efforts met with
relative critical and commercial
success, albeit a mere shadow of
her 1980s heyday.
Stunt performer
By this time, Madonna’s output was being handled by her
Maverick publishing company,
founded in 1992, and owned and
operated by Warner Music. For
the privilege, Time Warner paid
Madonna a record-breaking
USD 60m. But the next ten years
brought more commercial setbacks than successes. Rare high
notes included two Grammy
awards for the 1998 song Ray
of Light and a Best Song Oscar
for You Must Love Me (penned
by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd
Webber) for the 1996 movie Evita. In 1998, Madonna began a
relationship with director Guy
Ritchie, marrying two years
later, and moving away from
the limelight to England in the
process.
Lucky Star
Around this time, the internet
began to significantly impact
music sales. Madonna reacted
in typical fashion. In 2004, she
sued Warner Bros for mismanagement. The firm ultimately
bought out Madonna’s shares
in Maverick for USD 10m. In
2007, she signed a 10-year USD
120m contract with Live Nation, the world’s biggest music
promoter. The arrangement is
a so-called “360 deal”, in which
the promoter offers financial
support to the artist, while
the artist provides greater
percentages to the promoter.
“The paradigm in the music
business has shifted, and as an
artist and a businesswoman, I
have to move with that shift,”
the singer noted at the time,
accepting for the first time limitations on her independence
as an artist. The deal turned
out to be a good one. In 2012,
a bumper year for Madonna,
she made USD 280m in ticket
sales as part of a promotional
tour for her album MDNA (in
spite of the actual album being viewed as a flop). Additionally, she made an estimated
USD 75m in merchandising;
USD 60m for a new Truth or
Dare perfume; USD 10m via
a Smirnoff ad deal; a further
USD 10m for TV rights to her
tour and around USD 5m in
sales for her Material Girl fashion line.
A clear vision, an iron will,
not to mention the 56-year-old
maintaining top physical form,
all mean that Madonna is set to
rake in many more millions in
the years ahead. As a singer,
actress and dancer, Madonna
is clearly second rate. As an
exercise in branding, however,
she undoubtedly still remains
the Queen of Pop.
Taken from the magazine
14/15
coffeebreakwith...
society
Helen Rodwell
CMS Cameron McKenna:
M&A turning ‘seller-friendly’
Strawberry wins the ‘Boots’
The Annual Awards for the Greatest Contribution to Lowthreshold Social Services, given by Czech Association StreetWork
[ČAS], was held in the Prague club premises of the Czech
Association of Scientific and Technical Societies at Novotného
lávka. The partner of the award [known as ČASované boty, or
“Timed Boots”] for Team of the Year was Bohemia Energy. In the
picture, Bohemia Energy Executive Director Jiří Písařík (right)
hands the main Team of the Year prize to Martin Pazlar, head of
the outreach street programme Jahoda [Strawberry] for children
and young people
The Czech M&A market
is at its most active
point since 2010 and has
recently outperformed
its neighbouring CEE
markets
In terms of M&A, which sectors
do you expect to produce most
activity in the next 12 months?
There are a number of
sectors that we expect to be
particularly active. “Rationalisation” in the financial sector
will drive banks and insurance
firms to divest non-core acti-
vities across the globe and the
Czech Republic will be no exception. The Czech IT sector,
and specifically software, remains on the radar of private
equity and strategic investors
and we will continue to reap
the fruits of the good local
conditions for tech start-ups.
Meanwhile, the real estate
market has also made a very
rapid recovery and sales and
acquisitions, particularly in
retail and logistics, are likely
to continue.
Last year CMS Prague had eight
partners, 12 external lawyers
and 12 trainee lawyers. Have
these figures changed in any
way?
Last summer, we had strong
growth and hired five new associates to join our team. Although our overall headcount
has remained the same since
then, we have seen a number of
changes. Three of our trainees have become fully-qualified
lawyers and we will be announcing further partner promoti-
ons in the near future. We do
not expect any steep headcount
increase but we will continue
our organic growth.
A number of international law
firms left the Czech market during 2014. Do you expect this
trend to continue?
As with any kind of business, the success of law firms
depends on the strength of the
underlying business model and
the reliability of the clients and
revenue. In this respect the
Czech market has not changed at all. Most international
firms currently here maintain
a strong local client base and a
long-term commitment to the
Czech Republic and the wider
region.
Havel beer tale enlivens
U Pinkasů proceedings
Prague’s Restaurant U Pinkasů has lived through and heard
many stories over six generations. One tale relates to the
journey of Václav Havel from a communist prison cell to
the Office of President. It was immortalised by friend and
photographer Alan Pajer (left). On the occasion of the 172nd
anniversary of the founding of U Pinkasů, Pajer unveiled some
of his photoreportage and at the conclusion of an address to
the audience, he recollected: “On 2 March 2003, Václav Havel
handed back the state seal and keys to the Castle, and said: ‘By
now that’s enough of that, it’s time for a Pilsner.’”
Brno IT firm Kentico earned
winning recognition at the 17th
Microsoft Awards by picking
up the CEO’s Award for Cloud
Solutions with an International
Reach. In a contest arranged
for companies which develop
solutions and applications on
the Microsoft platform, Kentico
was applauded for being one
of the most active partners in
its region. The prize was picked
up by the company’s Director
of Product Karol Jarkovský
A151004843
Photo: Kentico
Photo: Bohemia Energy
At the start of the year, you
said that the Czech M&A market had returned to pre-crisis
activity levels. How does this
compare to neighbouring markets?
The Czech market is at its
most active point since 2010
and has recently outperformed its neighbouring CEE
markets. Although last year,
the market lacked deals in
excess of EUR 1bn, which
characterised 2013, a total of
171 transactions got signed. In
2012, when the M&A market
was at its lowest point, there were just 102 deals with
an overall deal value of only
around a quarter of the EUR
5bn reached last year.
Poland remains a larger
market in terms of deal volume, but it was overshadowed
by the Czech Republic in terms
of overall deal value. Hungary
and Slovakia also witnessed
increases in deal flows, however, their deal volumes lagged
far behind that of the Czech
Republic.
Photo: Restaurace U Pinkasů
Are these findings true for
the Czech Republic as well?
We have seen the trend towards a more seller-friendly
market evolve over the past
few years, but in the Czech
Republic this development
has particularly accelerated
in the past 12 months. In the
past few years there have
always been plentiful targets
in the Czech Republic, but in
many cases there was little
pressure on sellers to divest,
so if the offers did not match
their expectations transactions would not reach signing.
The increased competition
among bidders caused by a
more stable economic outlook
and low interest rates make
Sturdy growth.
Last summer, we had
strong growth and
hired five associates
to join our team
a dv e rt is i ng A150000993
You have just released your
annual M&A Study. How
would you summarise current
trends seen in M&A transactions?
The trends in deal terms
in M&A agreements are telling for current market sentiment across Europe. After
the crisis years, during which
buyers had the upper hand in
negotiations, we are increasingly operating in a “seller-friendly” environment.
Sellers – whether corporate
investors or private business owners – are now getting
better deals both in terms of
the consideration paid and in
the assumption of risk after
closing.
buyers more flexible in accepting more seller-friendly
terms.

M
anaging partner of
CMS Cameron McKenna in Prague Helen Rodwell has been based
in the Czech Republic since
1999. As a financial services/
mergers & acquisitions lawyer, she has advised clients
on their investments through the highs and lows of the
market. We spoke with her
about current trends in M&A
transactions, Czech market
developments and CMS’ Prague office.
Kentico awarded
for cloud solutions
a dv e r t i s i n g
16
Photo: ČTK
diversions
picture of the week
Chocks away for Kašpar
Pardubice Airport last week saw a Blériot XI replica aircraft take to the skies for a two-kilometre flight. Pilot Peter Mára re-enacted the exploits of the first Czech
aviator Jan Kašpar, who made his first successful flight in the plane on 16 April 1910, and a year later managed to construct his own functional aircraft, the JK. A
Blériot XI was used by Frenchman Louis Blériot on 25 July 1909 to make the first flight across the English Channel made in a heavier-than-air aircraft
invitations
film
architecture
sales exhibition
sculpture
Magnum Photo’s
Erich Lessing
VI. Festival of
Dance Films
ModulArch 2015
pushes the envelope
Cornucopia of exhibits
at Antique fair
Restart with Čestmír
Suška at Pilsen 2015
The Austrian Cultural Forum in
Prague is presenting a crosssection of assorted works of
Erich Lessing – the doyen of
Austrian photography who is
associated with the Magnum
Photos Agency – who on 13
July will celebrate his 92nd
birthday. The event will be
open at the forum (18 Jungmannovo náměstí) from 23
April to 31 July. Free entry.
The festival, the only one of
its kind in the Czech Republic, is entering its sixth year.
Festivalgoers who head for
Prague’s Cinema Lucerna can
see what is a unique collection
of dozens of dance for camera
films and dance documentaries from around the world
– from several minutes long
to feature-length. Pencil 23-25
April in your diary.
This festival of modular architecture, running from 23-25
April in Brno, attempts to
closely explore the possibilities that present themselves
to this design genre in the
public environment. A full-day
interdisciplinary conference
will take place on the 23rd
in cooperation with Brno’s
International Building Fair.
The main festival star will be
Chilean architect Sebastian
Irarrazaval.
The traditional spring antiques
fair, appositely named Antique, takes place from 23- 26
April at New Town Hall in
Prague. Displays of paintings,
Meissen hard-paste porcelain,
Art Nouveau glass, weapons
and jewellery are among those
that await visitors. Exhibitors
will also draw the crowds with
rarities from distant corners
of the Earth, such as a skull
from Papua New Guinea.
The latest works of sculptor Čestmír Suška will be
presented at one of the three
year-long exhibitions that
form part of Pilsen 2015 –
European Capital of Culture in
a new creative zone dubbed
DEPO2015 at 14 Presslova
street. The Suška exhibition,
named Restart (it reminds
the visitor to never lose hope,
there’s always a chance to
start again!), opens on 25
April.
Photos: Erich Lessing, archive E15 weekly
photography