OREANDA-NEWS. SCM presented Ukrainskiy Retail company that will develop retail  business as a new area of Group operation. Ukrainskiy Retail is  creating an own network of stores under Brusnytsya brand. According to the company information department, "The decision to invest in retail trade, a new business for SCM, is in  line with strategy of the Group's development aimed to diversify and increase share of post-industrial businesses in the total portfolio of  the Group. We research various segments of the Ukrainian services  market and are interested in entering the biggest and most rapidly  developing of them. Retail trade segment in Ukraine fully matches  these criteria and has, in our view, a big growth potential," said  Natalya Yemchenko, PR and Communications Director of SCM. "However, we  invest to establish a retail network not only to create value. It is also an opportunity for SCM to make a significant contribution to development of infrastructure in cities of our presence and increase standards in services area," she added.

Launching this business from scratch, SCM creates new jobs and ensures  good working conditions and salary to employees. Over 1,000 jobs will be created just in Donetsk Regions starting from September, 2006 until  the year end. As the network develops, new jobs will appear. Today, nine stores under Brusnytsya brand function in Donetsk Region.  
By the year end 20 stores are expected to open and another 80 will  start working in 2008 in Donetsk, Lugansk, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, and Zaporozhye regions. The number of stores is to grow to 500 within the next five years.

SCM will invest at least $200m during five years in development of its  retail business."Two formats will operate under Brusnytsya brand with "a comfortable  store" of 300-400 sq.m and "a comfortable supermarket" of 800-1,200  sq.m," said Aleksey Hessen, CEO of Ukrainskiy Retail. ."The first  format is being intensively developed now. This model was chosen to create an optimal and comfortable store to be visited daily thanks to a thought-out mix of products and quality of goods as well as a comfortable environment for a buyer. It contains many details including a pleasant lighting, modern ventilation, spacious rows, high  service level, as well as a logical and intuitive placement of goods on shelves. Comfort in details is as important for us as the quality and mix of products. Retail is detail."

ZAO System Capital Management is the largest Ukrainian managing company, which owns and controls assets in mining and metals, energy-generating industries, telecommunications, banking, insurance, media, retail, and other sectors of economy. In particular, SCM Group controls Metinvest Holding, DTEK, Farlep-Invest, Optima Telekom, SCM Finance, Syegodnya Publishing House, TRK Ukraina, Ukrainskiy Retail, etc.