The call of the East

Martin Bertinchamp, chief executive of Gardena AG, officially opened the company's subsidiary, Gardena Rus, in Moscow at the end of November. Mikhail Buzukashvili is the managing director of Gardena Rus. According to information from the company, the commencement of Gardena Rus's business operations is to be the first step in its "East European expansion programme". Gardena's sales in this region have risen by 73 per cent over the last five years. According to Martin Bertinchamp, there are plans to establish further subsidiaries in eastern Europe. Gardena has until now been represented on the Russian market by importers.