Ukraine’s Largest Supermarket Chain To Increase Number Of Stores By 70%

Ukraine’s largest supermarket chain, Furshet (Anthousa) announced plans yesterday to increase its number of stores by 70% next year from 66 to 112 stores. Furshet plans to increase its number of stores to 169 by 2009. According to Igor Balenko, Furshet’s Chairman of the board, the group’s net profits came to USD 481 mln in 2006, an increase of 38% yoy.  The company plans to increase its share of the Ukrainian market to 5% in 2007. Alexander Romanov: Constant double digit growth of real disposable income in Ukraine has led to a big jump in retail trade and consequently high demand for retail space. Furshet is the first national player to announce plans to penetrate small towns with populations of around 25 ths. Though average salaries are smaller in regions than in big cities, they have higher growth rates thus potentially making them retail’s key growth drivers. In order to finance its capex, Furshet is planning to attract EBRD credit in 2007 and plans IPO in 2009.