Russian footwear chain to enter Poland

2012-01-27



The founder of the Eldorado electronics retailer, Igor Yakovlev, is to invest approximately $150m in launching of a new network of shoe stores under the name of Kari. The announced investments embrace the first year of the chain's operation. The new business is to be developed in Russia, Poland, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
The first stores in Poland are to start operation between May and June 2012 and by the end of the year the network is to grow to 30 operating outlets. The retailer aims at openings in shopping centres in the cities of 50,000 inhabitants and more.
Globally, Igor Yakovlev wants to have a network of 150 Kari stores by the end of 2012. The average area of one Kari store is to cover 300 m². The cost of opening a store is estimated at $300,000-400,000 (€232,000-309,000).
According to sources cited by Kommersant, the new chain of shoe stores will trade footwear under its own labels, produced to the company's order, most probably in China.
See the Broader view: Footwear companies develop their business in Poland to find more information about footwear retailers' expansion in Poland in 2012.