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The British Are Coming to Russian Retail
The old English department store Debenhams announced yesterday that it was making a second attempt to enter the Russian market. It will open a new store in Moscow before autumn 2009 with new partners. Its first licensees, RID Group and World Class co-owner Maxim Ignatyev, recently closed their department store on Krasnaya Presna and their contract has been annulled. The store was opened in November 2006. Now 585 owner Alexander Smirnov is in negotiations with Debenhams. 585, one of the largest jewelry chains in Russia, would not be involved in the deal.
A source in RID Group stated that Debenhams is interested in space in the Metropolis shopping center, now going up on Leningrad Highway in Moscow. Jones Lang LaSalle, sales broker for the shopping center, confirms that negotiations were held with Debenhams, but said that no agreement was reached on the space.
Debenhams has 131 stores in Great Britain and Ireland and 300 more franchise stores in 30 countries. The chain owns 55 brand names, including Red Herring, Thomas Man and Debut. It receipts in 2007 totaled $3.7 billion. 585 was founded in 2000 in St. Petersburg. It has 470 stores in 130 Russian cities. Its turnover in 2007 was approximately $200 million.
Real estate consultants say that Debenhams is interested in space in Moscow and St. Petersburg shopping centers. The company is negotiating for space in the Levoberezhny and Abramtsevo shopping centers in Moscow and Ligovsky in St. Petersburg. The consultants say the company’s plans remain unchanged. It wants to open 15 department stores in Russia by 2010 and to expand to other countries of the CIS. The investment required to realize those plans will be ˆ45-60 million.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 28, 2008
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