WHETHER BURR WARNE IS EXPANDING HIS OPTICAL FURNISHINGS AND STORE DESIGN BUSINESS IN MARIETTA, GA. OR IN PRAGUE, CZECH, IT’S ALL BUSINESS AS USUAL AND BOILS DOWN TO A QUESTION OF A POSITIVE ATTITUDE FOR THE 41-YEAR-OLD ENTREPRENEUR BASED IN JONESBORO, GA.
WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE NEGATIVES OF DOING BUSINESS IN CZECH, MR. WARNE REPLIED TO GLOBALFAX, GOING INTO THAT COUNTRY HAS OBSTACLES, BUT THEY CAN BE OVERCOME; THERE ARE SOLUTIONS THAT BUSINESS PEOPLE CREATE AND THAT NO GOVERNMENT WILL.
DESPITE THE RELATIVELY SHORT TIME DURING WHICH HE HAS BEEN A PART OWNER OF M.O.D.E, MR. WARNE HAS PURSUED FOREIGN MARKETS AS INTENSELY AS THOSE NEARER HIS HOME. M.O.D.E. CURRENTLY HAS 25 PROJECTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE, WHERE THERE IS A STEADY DEMAND FOR TURNKEY DESIGN, MANUFACTURING AND INSTALLATION OF RETAIL VISION CENTERS.
MR. WARNE’S CAN-DO ATTITUDE HAS TAKEN HIM MOST RECENTLY TO THE REPUBLIC OF CZECH AND SLOVAKIA WHERE HIS CLIENTS’ 15 VISION CENTERS WERE DESIGNED FOR MAJOR DEPARTMENT STORES IN PRAGUE AND BRATISLAVA.
HE WAS IMPRESSED BY THE CRAFTSMANSHIP AND NEW NATIONAL PRIDE OF THE CZECHS WHOSE COMMITMENT TO CAPITALISM IS STRONGEST AMONG THE YOUTH, HE SAID. CZECH PEOPLE WANT TO WORK SO BAD AND BE SUCCESSFUL, THEY ARE LISTENERS, CAPITALISTICALLY-ORIENTED, AND SETTING UP AN INFRASTRUCTURE TO BE A COMPETING COUNTRY IN THE FUTURE.
MR. WARNE ATTENDED A LUNCHEON AT THE WORLD TRADE CLUB, ATLANTA WHERE CZECH’S CURRENT AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S., MICHAEL ZANTOVSKY, SAID THAT HIS COUNTRY SOUGHT THE PARTICIPATION OF OUTSIDE INVESTORS IN THE OVERHAUL OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING COMMUNICATION AND ROAD SYSTEMS, RAILWAYS, AND HOUSING AND PUBLIC SEWERAGE SYSTEMS.
MR. WARNE CONFIRMED OPPORTUNITIES IN THE RE-FIXTURING MARKET IN PRAGUE ALONE ARE REASON ENOUGH TO PURSUE A JOINT VENTURE WITH A LOCAL CABINETRY AND WOODWORKING FACTORY WHICH WILL PROVIDE A BASE OF OPERATIONS BY WHICH TO ENTER OTHER MARKETS AT A LATER DATE.
BOTH THE CZECH AND U.S. GOVERNMENTS ARE ENCOURAGING SUCH TRANSACTIONS THROUGH ENTERPRISE FUNDS. YOU HAVE TO THINK FIVE TO 10 YEARS OUT, HE SAID. BUT THE PERSON WHO HAS THE PATIENCE TO DEVELOP THIS MARKET AND NETWORK WILL DO QUITE WELL.
CZECH’S FUTURE ECONOMIC SUCCESS, HE ALSO SAID, WOULD BE PROPELLED BY NEW WORLD MARKETS FROM WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN CLOSED OFF FOR YEARS, ESPECIALLY FOR THEIR SPECIALTIES SUCH AS FINE CRYSTAL. THEIR AMBITION IS TO REDEVELOP WHAT BEFORE WORLD WAR II WAS ONE OF EUROPE’S STRONGEST ECONOMIES.
ON THE HOME FRONT, MR. WARNE RECENTLY BOUGHT CAPITAL SIGNS, A GEORGIA DOME SIGN FABRICATOR, AND HE WILL BE MOVING FORWARD WITH PLANS TO OBTAIN A MARIETTA, GA. FACILITY WHICH PRESENTLY EXPORTS TO EGYPT.