OREANDA-NEWS. October 18, 2007. 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.

“The decision to invest in retail trade, a new business for SCM, is in line with strategy of Group 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.

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 Zaporozh’ye 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.

90% of JSC SCM shares are owned by businessman Rinat Akhmetov.

ООО Ukrainskiy Retail develops retail business of SCM under Brusnytsya Brand in Ukraine. SCM Group owns 100% of charter fund of the company.