Obuv Rossii is again trying to get to the capital market

The Novosibirsk group of companies Obuv Rossii is trying to enter the capital market. The company has already opened its first store in the Moscow region, and by the end of 2012, 10 more are planned. The next step will be to enter the Moscow market, scheduled for late 2013 - early 2014.

For the company Obuv Rossii, this will be the second attempt to develop the capital market. In the 2007 year, the company managed to open three stores in Moscow, but all of them were closed at the end of the 2008 year due to the crisis.

Anton Titov, director of the group of companies, announced plans to enter the capital region’s market. The first Westfalika chain store opened in Electrostal near Moscow in July, and by the end of 2012, the company plans to open at least 10 stores in the Moscow Region - Balashikha, Noginsk, Schelkovo, Zheleznodorozhny, and others. There are 1-2 stores in each of the settlements. The cost of opening one store will be, taking into account inventories, about 5 million rubles.

The development of the Moscow Region is a preparation for the company to enter the capital market, explained Anton Titov. “The costs of doing business here are lower than in Moscow - this concerns the maintenance of the office, staff, rental rates, and logistics. Plus, work in the Moscow region will allow us to form an audience of loyal customers and increase brand awareness in the region, ”said the shoe maker. In his opinion, it makes sense to go to Moscow with a network of at least 30-40 stores - "then all the costs will be paid off and there is the opportunity to launch large-scale promotion campaigns."

Mr. Titov explains his interest in the capital market due to its large capacity and favorable market conditions. In the Moscow region, multi-brand networks of the low-price segment mainly compete. Westfalika is a single-brand store of the mid-price segment, but the competition here is not so high, so it has good prospects, ”said the general director of the company.

Maxim Klyagin, an analyst with Finam Management, confirms Anton Titov’s calculations. According to him, the Moscow market accounts for about 30-35% of total shoe sales in the country, and the Moscow region - about 3,5-5%. “Therefore, expansion into the markets of Moscow and the Moscow region is logical. The competition, of course, is higher, but the level of effective demand is the highest in the country, ”the analyst notes.

Siberian players evaluate the capital market differently. “The Moscow region is of interest to the company primarily because of the high level of purchasing power,” says Svetlana Samsonova, general director of Rossita (58 stores and 52 wholesale units). According to her, in 2011-2012, the network planned to open its own and franchised Lisette shoe stores in the central part of the country, including in Moscow and the Moscow region.

Marketing Director of the Monroe shoe network in Novosibirsk (178 stores) Andrei Kalmykov is skeptical about the attractiveness of the Moscow region. The company acquired at the beginning of the 2010 year the “Pedometer” network of 10 stores in the Moscow Region. Now the chain has 20 stores in the region and three in the capital. “Moscow is densely populated and has a very large capacity, but this is offset by high rents and staff costs,” says Mr. Kalmykov. In his opinion, in order for a Moscow store to bring the same income as a similar store in Novosibirsk, an institution should sell "substantially more", which in practice is "not so easy to achieve." Therefore, Mr. Kalmykov summarizes, now for promotion the company focuses on small cities in the Moscow region. About this writes Kommersant. Siberia.