6 January 2023
Foxtrot recognized as "Unbreakable Retailer of the Year" in the Mind Nominations 2022 analytics
The business edition "The Mind" summed up the results of the year, highlighting in each branch of the national economy the people and structures that particularly vividly manifested themselves in various industries of the Ukrainian economy after 24.02. In the opinion of the specialized part of the editorial office, Foxtrot deserves the nomination "Unbreakable of the Year" in domestic retail – as a company significant for the industry, which suffered huge losses due to the war, but managed to restore and continue its work
Analysts' reasoning: the retailer lost its central warehouse and goods worth UAH 600 million, but was able to maintain control over the network's operations
Facts: at the beginning of March, Foxtrot, Ukraine's largest chain stores in the segment of retail sales of electronics and household appliances, faced one of the most difficult tests in its history: the central warehouse with an area of 33,000 square meters was destroyed. It was located in Gostomel near Kyiv. "A rocket hit here, then the warehouse became a target for exercises by Russian tankers. And fire and looters added to the picture,"- Foxtrot Executive Director Oleksiy Zozulya told to the Mind.
The network lost UAH 600 million worth of goods. It was possible to save only a few forklifts and some small things. In peacetime, goods were delivered from the central warehouse in Gostomel to all of the chain.
And from this moment the story of "unbreakability" actually begins.
The company evacuated goods from stores close to the front line and redistributed them to other stores in the network. This process lasted 2.5 months. The amount of leftovers increased in each store. And within a month, in April, the chain found a new warehouse in Lviv with an area of 3,500 square meters. m. Then, after the start of the war, it was not easy to find a free place to store goods in the west of the country.
"We found it and waited a long time for the premises to be freed from humanitarian cargo that was moving through Lviv. This warehouse, of course, fulfills its function as much as it can, because it is not the right scale and the wrong size," Zozulya recalls.
Therefore, already at the beginning of October, "Foxtrot" announced the launch of its own newly built warehouse in the village of Kolonshchyna in Kyiv Oblast with an area of 22,000 square meters. m. The company closed reserve facilities in Dnipro and Lviv and leased warehouses in the Kyiv region, switching to centralized operational activities from one warehouse. These are class "A" warehouses with 33 ramps, which significantly increases the throughput for the frequency of replenishment of store shelves, increases the number of suppliers, which is very important for maintaining the competitiveness of the brand.
Remind that in November 2022, Foxtrot was included in the ranking of Forbes-Ukraine magazine, which identified Ukrainian companies that proved to be more stable than others, were able to preserve and sometimes increase business during wartime. Foxtrot entered a separate group within the rating – five businesses that suffered a lot and experienced a dramatic decline, but the entrepreneurial flair and managerial skill of the business captains quickly brought them back into the game.