Detsky Mir opens stores in Syktyvkar and Ulyanovsk

2011-11-22



The Detsky Mir Group, a large Russian retailer of children’s goods, opened two new stores in Russia in mid-November. The first was in the Maxi shopping centre in Syktyvkar (in the Republic of Komi). This establishment takes up 1,500 m² and is the company’s first retail unit in the city.
Another, 1,100-m², shop opened in the Samolet shopping centre in Ulyanovsk.
At present, the overall area covered by the Detsky Mir network (137 outlets) is 280,000 m². The retailer has opened nine stores since the beginning of the summer of 2011: in Tver, Moscow, Chelyabinsk, Kirov, Stary Oskol (Belgorod Province) and Novosibirsk.
Retail Update Russia has already reported Detsky Mir’s new five-year development policy, which stipulates that the company’s store count will double, as will its annual revenue (RUB 20bn ($664.4m) in 2010. To achieve the stated goals, the company intends to increase its goods turnover by at least 30% and to reduce its range from 80,000 to 45,000 SKUs, to allow it to order directly from producers, thus avoiding intermediaries. In addition, the company intends to improve its logistics plan, along with the display of goods at its stores.
The strategy is expected to help the company to improve its financial condition – its financial results have been disappointing since 2007.