Nay A.S. (Slovakia)

NAY a.s. is the largest specialized electronics retailer in the Slovak Republic, with a market share of approximately 25%. It has been operating in the market since the early 1990s. The company was founded by Peter Zálešák and Ján Tomáš, who are still the owners of the company. NAY's history is interesting because it was established without inheriting an established market from which it could draw experience. Despite this, it played a significant role in shaping the current retail landscape not only in Slovakia but also in the entire Central European region. Shortly after its establishment, NAY became a distributor of global electronics brands such as Sony and Panasonic in Slovakia. Since there were no developed retail networks at that time to distribute branded electronics, the company came up with the idea of opening stores in city centers under the NAY brand, which would be operated by local entrepreneurs. This concept, now known as franchising in Slovakia, had no traditions in the early 1990s. By 1997, the company had opened 12 small-format stores in Slovakia and Moravia. Many consumers still remember these stores, such as the famous one on Dunajská Street in Bratislava, where there was often a long line of customers due to high demand. NAY brought high-quality electronics to customers, which Slovaks had previously only known from sporadic visits abroad, foreign television, or catalogs.