“People are the greatest achievement” – the story of building LPP Kosovo

In July 2024, LPP Kosovo had one employee. Today, the local organisation employs more than 300 people, and its retail network comprises 39 stores across all five of the Group’s brands. Between these two figures lie hundreds of recruitment interviews, the implementation of processes from scratch, a race against time and teams that were built almost month by month.

One of the first visible outcomes of this work was the opening of a Sinsay store in February 2025, when the brand joined the tenants of Central Park in Pristina. However, few people consider just how much had to happen for that opening to become possible.

Kanarine Kallaba Ramadani was behind this process from the very beginning. She joined LPP Kosovo in July 2024 as its first team member and took part in building the local organisation from scratch. Her perspective offers the clearest insight into the challenges that accompanied the company’s growth in the Kosovo market.

LPP Kosovo – from its first employee to a team of more than 300 people

Since July 2024, the LPP Kosovo team has grown step by step. New colleagues joined almost every month, while preparations were also underway for the first store openings. An important milestone was the opening of the Sinsay store at Central Park, which marked the beginning of LPP’s retail presence in the Kosovo market.

In approximately one year and eight months since its opening, LPP Kosovo has expanded its network to 39 stores. Today, all the Group’s brands are present in the market, and the local organisation employs more than 300 people.

For me personally, it has been very rewarding to experience this journey from being the first employee to seeing the organization and teams we have built today – says Kanarine Kallaba Ramadani, HR Manager at LPP Kosovo.

The greatest challenge was balancing two goals at the same time. On the one hand, we wanted to build teams that would work well together and share a similar approach to work. On the other hand, we had to keep pace with the company’s growth. LPP in Kosovo was growing very dynamically, and every new store opening also increased the demand for new specialists – she adds.

Building HR processes from scratch

At the same time, local HR processes were being implemented to meet the needs of the growing organisation, LPP standards and the regulations in force in Kosovo.

As Kanarine Kallaba Ramadani points out, the greatest challenge at the beginning was the uncertainty surrounding the implementation of ambitious expansion plans. The HR team was simultaneously responsible for finding the right people in the local market, supporting business growth at the required pace and ensuring that the processes were implemented correctly.

None of this would have been possible without the team we built in our back office. Everyone rose to the challenge. Knowledge and experience provided a strong foundation, but without the mutual trust and relationships we managed to build, we would never have achieved the results we have today – recalls the HR Manager.

Career development at LPP

How, then, could the company continue expanding its teams while maintaining such a dynamic pace of growth, particularly when the Kosovo labour market is not among the easiest?

Today, candidates expect much more than an attractive salary. Competitive pay remains very important, but transparency, stability and genuine opportunities for internal growth are equally significant.

I also see that the working environment has become increasingly important. People want to feel respected, comfortable and valued at work, to have good relationships with their managers and colleagues, and to feel that their contribution matters – explains Kanarine Kallaba Ramadani.

After all, we spend a significant part of our day at work, so I believe people are increasingly looking for an employer where they can develop professionally, but also feel good about coming to work every day – she adds.

This last aspect in particular proved to be an important foundation for the organisation’s growth.

A company culture rooted in everyday collaboration

What sets LPP apart is our company culture and the importance we place on interpersonal as well as professional relationships – explains Kallaba Ramadani.

From the beginning, LPP has taken a distinctive approach to work, mutual relationships, trust and belief in the possibility of achieving ambitious goals. The company has always valued people who want to think outside the box, who are not satisfied with a routine course of action, but instead seek shared, ambitious challenges pursued with mutual support and trust.

For Kanarine Kallaba Ramadani, the last of these elements – trust – is particularly important. As she points out, people stand behind business results, which is why organisational growth should go hand in hand with creating a working environment where employees feel respected, listened to and supported. At the same time, LPP’s company culture encourages ambition, development and accountability for results.

Company growth means growth for people

There is one more important element that Kanarine draws attention to: development opportunities.

The growing store network has meant not only new locations on the map of Kosovo, but also new opportunities for employees. The organisation’s dynamic pace of growth has created room for promotions and the development of career paths within the company. The LPP Kosovo teams already include people who started in store-based roles and now hold positions with greater responsibility.

This is one of the reasons why recruiting new employees became easier. Candidates could see that the company’s growth translated into genuine opportunities for professional development.

I believe that a relationship benefiting both sides – the employee as well as the organisation – is an invaluable partnership. There is no denying that this aspect played an important role in attracting candidates and supporting the demanding recruitment process – emphasises Kanarine Kallaba Ramadani.

People are the greatest achievement

The expansion to 39 stores and more than 300 employees demonstrates the scale of the changes that have taken place since LPP began operating in Kosovo. However, Kanarine Kallaba Ramadani does not consider these figures to be the most important achievement.

Looking at the journey the organisation has made since July 2024, she sees the greatest value not in the number of stores opened or the pace of growth, but in the people who have built it together since the earliest days of LPP’s presence in Kosovo.

If I had to choose one achievement, I would say it is the people I get to work with every day and the team we have built together – concludes Kanarine Kallaba Ramadani. Without them, their ambition, approach to work and spirit of collaboration, we would not be where we are today.