The Carbon brand emerged from the market’s need in Serbia and the region for a high-quality product at the best price
In this exclusive interview, we sit down with a general manager from Laptop Centar, a company that has grown into a leading force in IT technology over the past 15 years. From the early days of small-scale management to overseeing a group of four specialized companies, the journey reflects dedication, innovation, and the pursuit of excellence. Discover how the Carbon brand emerged as a response to market needs, the key to long-term success, and what drives this leader to continue motivating and empowering others in the industry.
What inspired you to pursue a managerial career, and what motivates you to continue working in this field?
I believe there isn’t really a specific inspiration for a career. In my case, and generally, it’s about courage and the readiness to take on tasks and responsibilities. Over time, this leads to the necessity of involving more people to accomplish these tasks, and then you need to organize them, which is how management starts—first on a smaller scale, and then it grows over the years. Motivation increases with every success, and then it evolves into motivating others, especially good colleagues, to become great managers themselves. It gives me immense satisfaction when I see someone I mentored achieving success.
After 20 years in this industry, which period would you highlight as the most important for your professional development, and why?
The period when I realized how to organize work in a way that brings enjoyment. Gaining this understanding requires the opportunity to learn from top-notch companies with highly developed organizational structures, and one of the best examples of this is the global IT circle of well-known companies.
Motivation increases with every success, and then it evolves into motivating others, especially good colleagues, to become great managers themselves
What sets Laptop Centar apart from other companies?
Laptop Centar has grown into a group of four companies with different areas of operation but with similar or identical products. This is the first distinctive feature—IT products, software solutions, services, and all consumer electronics are procured through a shared system, and then the products are distributed, solutions implemented, and services provided through different channels, each of which is specialized: Laptop Centar – to end consumers via the online shop, ITG – to large corporations, small, and medium-sized enterprises, Smart Technology Solutions – project channels for large-scale planned procurements, Solar Distribution System – solar power plants and all products needed for them.
The second distinctive feature of our group is the commitment to the goal of providing high technology, embodied in the latest products, software, and services, to all our partners—large and small, as well as end consumers—at the most favourable terms, much better than what is available in both local and global markets. We achieve this by shortening the supply chain from manufacturer to end consumer and maintaining rigorously low costs while preserving the highest quality, thus ensuring a serious advantage for everyone collaborating with our group.
Laptop Centar recently marked its 15th anniversary. What do you think is key to a company’s successful longevity?
It’s a combination of understanding the needs of our partners and the end consumers of our products, services, and support, along with excellent organization and a quality team.
How did Laptop Centar manage to position itself among the leaders in IT technology?
Only through hard, dedicated work and the desire to execute every task, from the smallest to the most demanding, with quality. Additionally, we maintain an exceptional level of dynamism, identifying early on which sales channels or product programs require more effort and investment, and where a pause is necessary until business opportunities improve.
Can you tell us about the role of Laptop Centar in introducing the “Carbon” brand?
The Carbon brand emerged from the market’s need in Serbia and the region for a high-quality product at the best price. We achieved success with Carbon products by simply shortening the path between the manufacturers we work with directly and the end consumers. By reducing this path, controlling costs, and maintaining quality, we enabled the end consumer—whether a company or an individual—to purchase the device at a more affordable price.
We also ensure that our products align with the values of modern society, making them as healthy and economical as possible!
What is planned for the “Carbon Era” event, which is expected to occur at Kalemegdan?
Carbon Era is an event through which we aim to initiate a new era, where the latest technology, culture, and art merge. The event is the product of our group’s strong desire as a representative of technology, Verica Rakočević as a symbol of style and art, and Veljko Kuzmančević, who symbolises modern art and culture with his symphony orchestra and original compositions. And then there’s Kalemegdan, a place that would require two books to describe fully—it is a world-renowned multicultural site, reflecting the presence of almost all of the most significant civilisations, with a stamp of our own culture, which we want to breathe new life into with this event.