FoxMart continues to expand in Moldova

The Ukrainian company “Foxtrot Home Appliances” has decided to expand intensively its chain of appliance hypermarkets branded “FoxMart”. The decision mainly refers to the market of Moldova, where a third hypermarket in Chisinau is to appear already in May. The new hypermarket will be located on 5 Moscow Blvd. In connection with the expansion of its chain of hypermarkets, the company will close the “Foxtrot” supermarkets existing in Moldova. The chain is represented by three supermarkets in Chisinau, that are to be closed by the end of April, the company said in a press release. “The decision to focus our attention on hypermarkets is determined first of all by the consumer preferences in Moldova. In Ukraine, the supermarket type is quite popular”, explains [Yuri Ponomarenko], acting CEO of Foxtrot Home Appliances. “In the large cities of Ukraine, particularly in the peripheral and residential areas, the density of such stores is rather low. So, knowing the value of their spare time, the Ukrainian consumers enjoy visiting this type of supermarkets, where they can find a fair choice of appliances, affordable prices and proper service. Yet in Moldova, the towns are rather compact and occupy smaller areas. Everything is at hand wherever you look. This is exactly why consumers in Moldova opt for hypermarkets with a huge variety of items to choose from and a large shopping area. The first steps of the company on an external market afforded us a great deal of experience. The shoppers showed us the direction to follow. Performance analysis of our network showed that in Moldova emphasis should be placed exactly on the expansion of hypermarkets. This is why the company will be represented on the Moldovan market only by FoxMart hypermarkets, the variety Moldovan consumers like most”, said Yuri Ponomarenko. Even before the shift to hypermarkets the Foxtrot brand has been quite popular among consumers. The chain's loyalty program, called the Comfort Program, numbers nearly 21,000 shoppers in Moldova (and roughly 2.6 million in Ukraine). All these persons have points cards which entitle them to discounts. “We are grateful to all the consumers who chose the Foxmart supermarkets and joined the Comfort Program. The advantages afforded to loyal Foxtrot shoppers will become even greater, since they will be available in all the FoxMart stores in Moldova”, says [Kirill Popov-Cherkasov], loyalty program officer at Foxtrot Home Appliances. “The use of comfort cards will be possible in hypermarkets as well, and the discounts on the purchases of household appliances will be significant. In addition, the Low Price Program available at FoxMart guarantees the lowest prices on the retail market of home appliances. Shopping at FoxMart will surely be more enjoyable with the comfort card”. Currently, Chisinau has two FoxMart stores, on 19 Moscow Blvd, and 10 Calea Iesilor Street. After the opening of the third store, the total shopping area of the FoxMart hypermarkets in Moldova will be 6,000 square meters. The shelves of the FoxMart hypermarkets accommodate items from 25 countries; the number of suppliers exceed 160, partners which represent 852 brands. Each hypermarket has a game-zone – a special place equipped with Full HD plasma screens and video game consoles including Playstation 3, XBox 360 and Nintendo Wii – where shoppers may test for themselves the quality and the sound of the games on the offer. For sound tests of acoustic and home cinema systems, the departments of video and sound appliances are equipped with Hi-Fi zones. The company “Foxtrot Home Appliances” entered the Moldovan market in 2007 by opening two FoxMart hypermarkets in Chisinau. One year later the company took over the local chain “Elefant”; following rebranding in July 2008, the stores re-opened as “Foxtrot” – both in Chisinau and Balti. Today the company is represented in Moldova by 3 Foxtrot supermarkets and 2 FoxMart hypermarkets. All the stores are located in Chisinau. Also, one of the hypermarkets accommodates the cut-price department “Technoshara” which offers perfectly good appliances which have minor surface damage or underwent refurbishment. [The company “Foxtrot Home Appliances”] was founded in 1994 and is currently the undisputed leading chain of household appliances in Ukraine. As of 8 April 2010, the company operated 270 outlets, including 202 Foxtrot supermarkets, 35 Foxmart hypermarkets, 30 Technoshara cut-price stores, and 3 Foxtrot stores specialized in digital equipment. The company is present in 102 rayon and oblast centers of Ukraine with a total shopping area exceeding 200,000 square meters.