Epicentre heads for Russia

The Ukrainian DIY market leader Epicentr is planning to break into the Russian market, according to a report in the Ukrainian news portal obozrevatel.com. The report states that Epicentr intends to set up around 20 branches within ten years, starting in 2014, and to make an investment of US $ 1.5 bn. A Russian consulting company has already been entrusted with the search for appropriate sites or existing property. It is felt that there will be great opportunities for the Epicentr format, with its huge sales areas and up to 350 000 SKUs, in the Russian market. Even in Moscow there is said to be no sign of saturation in the market for these large-format stores. The relatively favourable credit conditions in Russia should also have an advantageous impact on the project. However, industry insiders see problems in the search for appropriate sites, which need to be between 4.5 and 10 hectares in size, and in the lack of any support for the Ukrainian “outsiders” on the part of the local Russian authorities. The article also quotes Alexei Jovlev, a member of the board of “Korporacija SBR”, the parent company of Metrika. In his opinion, Epicentr has left it too late and will have trouble keeping up with the already established international and local chains over the next ten years.