The shoe business of Igor Yakovlev, the ex-owner of the Eldorado retail chain, is gaining momentum. As it became known, over the past month and a half, the businessman has opened 80 Kari stores in Russia, Poland, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, and by the end of the year the network should more than triple.
The first 10 Kari shoe stores opened in June in Poland, Mr. Yakovlev said. Today, there are six outlets in Ukraine, five in Kazakhstan and 59 in Russia (including two in Moscow). 75% of the assortment are women's shoes, the remaining 25% are men's and accessories. Average bill per pair is $ 20. Shoes are made to order in China.
The network is actively looking for staff. Job search sites (hh.ru, joblab.ru, job-mo.ru, etc.) report dozens of vacancies at Kari LLC (management company) - from store directors to cashiers. Business is developing more actively than I expected, Yakovlev shares, by the end of the year at least 260 outlets will be open. Investments by the end of the year - $ 150 million; this, according to Yakovlev, is his own funds. Kari's presentation indicated that 2014 stores will be open by the end of 1000. Yakovlev estimates the business margin at 15% in terms of EBITDA.
Kari selects premises for stores with an area of 200-300 sq. m, knows Boris Matza from Cushman & Wakefield (Yakovlev's retail real estate consultants). “Moreover, only the best centers and the highest quality sites are chosen. This is the policy of the new brand - it needs to be visible all the time, ”he says. It is quite possible to open 260 stores by the end of the year, Matza believes: "The Kari team has experienced logistics and development specialists from Eldorado with established relations with landlords, which helps to quickly enter the project." Kari LLC is headed by Valentin Dmitriev, ex-financial director of Eldorado Ukraine, and all regional directors have been transferred from Eldorado, Yakovlev confirmed.
Yakovlev is the creator of the largest Russian electronic retailer Eldorado. In 2009, he gave control of the company for the debts: 50% plus 1 share went to the Czech PPF Group and its structures, the deal also included the development projects of the businessman Advantage Group and Real Estate Development. Since July 2011 PPF has controlled 100% of Eldorado.
Shoe experts don't believe in Yakovlev's success. Unlike the household appliances market, in which Yakovlev has achieved success, the seasonality of sales plays a very important role in the shoe market, and such a concept as fashion, indicates the general director of the shoe union Natalya Demidova. The newspaper "Vedomosti" writes about it.
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