Selling a trading network okay. The story of O'KEY, a Russian retailer that is about to change. Reforms in the company

On the morning of December 13, 2014, explosions thundered in the hills located in the Georgian region of Kvemo-Kartli, which shook the whole of Georgia. The Rich Metals Group (RMG), the only gold producer in Georgia, preparing to start open pit mining, destroyed the adits of the world's oldest gold mine in a matter of seconds. Archaeologists who have studied the local adits since 2004 estimate their age at 5,000 years. Disturbance public organizations, who had been fighting for the preservation of the historical monument for several years, were supported by the Georgian Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II, who the very next day demanded to punish those responsible. Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili compared the incident with the destruction of the Buddha statue in Afghanistan by the Taliban and said that RMG belongs to the relatives of his political opponent billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who are fulfilling the Kremlin's order. In fact, the owners of the company turned out to be completely different billionaires - co-owners of the O'Key hypermarket chain Dmitry Troitsky and Dmitry Korzhev.

If not for the scandal, businessmen would hardly have appeared in public. Troitsky, according to his confession, in November 2014, in order to calm the public, reluctantly agreed for the first time in his life to be interviewed by the media - the Georgian TV channel Imedi. At the same time, his photograph with a signature in Georgian first appeared on the Internet, where, during the preparation of the next rating of billionaires, a Forbes correspondent saw it, contacted the businessman and began to make an appointment. And only a year and a half later, in the Moscow office of O'Key, Troitsky, Korzhev and their partner Boris Volchek got together and agreed to tell Forbes about their business.

The office environment is ascetic - a table, chairs and a board on which you can draw with a marker. Businessmen, who are not used to talking to journalists, answer questions succinctly. All of them were born, raised and studied in St. Petersburg. Troitsky and Korzhev have been friends since their studies at the Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute. Troitsky's father was the captain of the research ships Cosmonaut Georgy Dobrovolsky and Professor Vize. With Volchek, who graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Engineers railway transport, friends have known each other since the mid-1990s, and in business, which later became the O'Key network, together with 2000.

In the 1990s, Volchek owned a Grazhdansky supermarket in St. Petersburg and a couple of plots of land suitable for building hypermarkets. Troitsky and Korzhev and their partners also had a plot of land of 3 hectares, which they bought from businessmen Shabtai Kalmanovich and Vladimir Kekhman for $ 600,000. The first O'Key hypermarket, which opened in May 2002, was built on this plot.

Volchek came up with an optimistic name. “We were advised that the name should be slightly Western, but at the same time friendly. At some point it dawned on me. Everyone liked it, it seemed laconic, ”the businessman recalls. Scandinavian hypermarkets became the model for the first O'Key stores. The consultant was an Estonian specialist, Heigo Kera, who had experience in these networks.

At that time there were four large Lenta stores in St. Petersburg, but O'Key was different, more civilized. “They took the classic Western European format as a basis, and we had a hard discounter with large halls, concrete floors, huge shelves and pallets between them,” explains Oleg Zherebtsov, the founder of Lenta. “The market was empty then. We literally taught shoppers how to use a store with a huge selection. Warm, light, parking nearby. We had a friendly security who recommended to take purchases on a trolley directly to the car, - recalls Volchek. "The people were a bit wild back then, but consumers quickly accepted and appreciated our format." The concept took off, the partners enthusiastically got down to business and in five years they opened stores not only in St. Petersburg, but also in Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, Togliatti and other regions.

In 2009, the first O'Key hypermarket was opened in Moscow. During this time, the company was led by Patrick Longuet, who worked at Auchan for 27 years. In the crisis of 2009, the chain became the leader in revenue growth (by 32.7% to 67.9 billion rubles, in 2005 the revenue was almost seven times lower), surpassed Lenta in sales and took third place in the list of the largest Russian retailers.

In November 2010, the company successfully completed an IPO on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Investors estimated O'Key at $ 3 billion, the co-owners earned $ 420 million from the sale of shares, of which $ 167 million went to the development of the company and to pay off debts. Troitsky and Volchek took part in the road show. For hours they bravely answered questions from representatives of Western foundations. According to Troitsky, the breakfasts with investors were especially painful. Then he visited America for the first time: he spent one day in New York and one in Boston. The company went public, but its shareholders did not get into the camera lenses even then - on the day of the placement of shares on the LSE, only a team of managers led by Longuet could be seen. And yet it was the finest hour: thanks to the IPO, Troitsky and Korzhev became billionaires and in 2011 were on the Forbes list.

Today the largest private shareholder of O'Key is Volchek, who indirectly owns 28% of the company's shares. 51% belongs to the Cypriot Nisemax Co Limited, whose shares are divided between Troitsky, Korzhev and their student friend Andrei Semyonov: Troitsky and Korzhev each own 23.5% of O'Key shares, and Semenov - about 4%.

Despite the parity, Troitsky and Korzhev, unlike many Russian entrepreneurs, do not quarrel and do not share assets. “In terms of personal qualities, it seems to me that we complement each other quite well. I was lucky with my partners - normal, adequate, decent people. We've had a lot in business difficult issues, but everyone was smart enough to maintain good relations for the sake of a common cause, ”says Volchek. And yet, the current shareholders of O'Key parted with one of the first equal partners.

Partner from Tallinn

One evening in August 2016, one of the richest people Hillar Teder of Estonia was resting after a sultry day in a restaurant by the Moskva River. He admired the Russian capital while drinking wine with his wife and friends. Two Dmitrievs - Troitsky and Korzhev, with whom Teder had created a joint business since the early 1990s, were not at this dinner. “Somehow life has developed so that we have been together for more than 20 years, and now we have not seen each other for many years,” the businessman says without emotion. No conflicts, according to him, have arisen between the partners.

The founders of O'Key owe much of their fortune to Teder.

Troitsky met an Estonian when he arrived in Tallinn in 1991. Teder, who worked in one of the Estonian cooperatives, had connections at the plant, which received a large consignment of Zhiguli through barter in exchange for seat belts. Re-export "eights" and "nines" flew in Russia at that time faster than Vana Tallinn liqueur in local bars. The business started right away.

In 1993, the partners created the Mega-Auto company in St. Petersburg, which in a couple of years opened three auto centers for the sale and maintenance of Volzhsky Automobile Plant cars. Teder had such good connections that soon they began to give the cars for sale to Russia even without payment - under his guarantee. In 1994, partners privatized the former Soviet auto center Lada in Tallinn, in 1997 the auto business in Russia grew to become a Hyundai dealership, in 1998 - to Audi. The connections with Estonia provided access to cheap money. According to Teder, it was much easier and more profitable to get loans from Estonian, and then from the Swedish banks that replaced them, than from Russian ones. “We took out loans for two and four million dollars,” he recalls.

The business was not limited to cars. Once, examining the pavilion at a food exhibition in Tallinn, Troitsky, Korzhev and Teder turned their attention to the stand of an Estonian juice producer. We asked about the capacity of the enterprise, prices and immediately ordered 20 tons of juices for delivery to Russia. Everything went well. But 40 tons of juices from the second batch deteriorated due to the breakdown of the refrigerator on the way. This prompted the idea of creating own production in Russia.

The equipment was leased from Tetra Pak, rented premises in St. Petersburg and in 1995 launched the Multon juice plant. The financial crisis of 1998 swept foreign competitors out of the market; in difficult situations, Tetra Pak helped, interested in preserving the local production of juices. In 1999, Multon produced 26 million liters of juice a year, five years after the opening of new lines and another plant in the Moscow region - almost 200 million liters (brands Nico, Rich, Dobry). The entrepreneurs started retail in parallel with the juice business. According to Teder, one day they saw a crowd at the entrance to a supermarket that opened in the Rocca al Mare shopping and entertainment center they built in 1998, Tallinn: “People were queuing for two hours. Whoa, we thought, what interesting business! " Then the land was purchased from Kalmanovich and Kekhman, on which "they began to build on the sly."

In 2005, the juice business of Troitsky, Korzhev and Tedera was bought by Coca-Cola, paying $ 501 million. “Multon has achieved everything that could be achieved in the juice market,” said the managing director of the company Alexander Kritsky after the transaction. - It makes no sense for our ambitious shareholders to continue investing in this market. They need large projects, and there are many fast-growing and more capacious markets, for example, retail and food processing. In 2006, the partners sold Wimm-Bill-Danna for $ 64 million to the Ochakov Dairy Plant, which they bought in 2002 for much less money. The proceeds from the sale of the juice and dairy projects were channeled into retail. Before the sale of Multon and Ochakovsky, the O'Key group owned only six hypermarkets in St. Petersburg, after a couple of years there were already 16 of them.

At that time, the shares of the four partners were divided almost equally - Volchek owned 25% of the shares of O'Key, Korzhev, Troitsky and Teder - 23.3% each, 5% belonged to Semyonov. In 2008, O'Key already had 37 stores. Inspired by their success in Russia, the founders started thinking about projects abroad. We looked closely at Belarus, Kazakhstan and even China, but stopped at Ukraine, Georgia and Armenia.

Unsold veins

By 2007, the entrepreneurs agreed to open an O'Key retail network in Ukraine, and in Armenia they had to start a completely new business - mining. The idea belonged to Troitsky, he convinced the partners to start developing the Armanis gold-polymetallic and Dastakert copper-molybdenum deposits. Troitsky was inspired, Korzhev, as always, calm, and the Estonian partner did not hide his displeasure. “I liked the nature, but nothing else,” says Teder. “We knew how to build hypermarkets and shopping centers, we knew how to trade, and that was what we had to do.” But Teder did not manage to convince Troitsky. As a result, Troitsky and Korzhev started mining copper and gold on their own. “I wanted to move to another industry, move away from the consumer market to a more complex one,” explains Troitsky.

Their Global Metals group includes two companies - Sagamar and Molybdeni Ashkhar, both in a deplorable state seven years after the start of the project. According to the financial statements, Sagamar's revenue at the end of 2015 amounted to less than $ 5 million (in 2014 - $ 8.8 million), and accumulated losses - $ 51.9 million. Molybdeni Ashkhar's revenue in 2015 was slightly more than $ 2,000 , the company with $ 6 million in assets had a negative capital of $ 2 million. In fact, the projects are frozen. At the same time, the partners have invested in Armenian mining projects a gigantic amount of $ 200 million for this country. What went wrong?

According to the General Director of Global Metals Karen Gazaryan, the blame was the fall in world prices for non-ferrous metals, "very limited reserves and low metal content in the ore." “When we acquired a license for the Dastakert field, the price of molybdenum reached $ 60,000–70,000 per ton, and now it is only $ 10,000,” he said in the spring of 2016 in an interview with Delovoy Express. Korzhev and Troitsky do not comment on their projects in Armenia. “At one time I almost bought some nickel field, oil fields in Kazakhstan,” recalls Dmitry Kostygin, chairman of the board of directors of Yulmart, former co-owner of Lenta. - When there are opportunities to invest, different fantasies appear, the sooner you get rid of them, the better. At first everything seems easy, but then it turns out that everything is not easy. "

Teder's idea to develop business in Ukraine was also unsuccessful. In 2007-2008, four stores were opened - in Kiev, Krivoy Rog, Zaporozhye and Kharkov. Already in June 2009, all stores were closed, suppliers did not even have time to pick up their goods. A year later, bankruptcy began, which ended in an amicable agreement in 2015. Three hundred suppliers received 5% of the total debt - 7.5 million hryvnia for all. “The Ukrainian market turned out to be not as rich as we thought,” says Teder. “There was not enough money or management for Ukraine, because the Moscow market was actively developing at that time.” In Ukraine, according to him, $ 200 million was invested, the end of the Ukrainian campaign was the sale of shops to "Ashan" "at the price of racks."

But this was already Teder's personal affair. In Ukraine, the Russian-Estonian partnership has split.

Teder got the Ukrainian and Estonian real estate (several shopping centers), Troitsky and Korzhev - part of Teder's share in O'Key and mining projects with which Troitsky could not part.

In June 2012, together with Korzhev, he acquired Georgian companies Quartzite (gold mining) and Madneuli (copper mining and export) from the entrepreneur Siman Povarenkin (Acmero Capital) for $ 120 million. After the purchase, the names were changed to RMG Gold and RMG Copper, the companies were united into the Rich Metals Group holding, today it is the only gold producer and exporter in Georgia. In the fall of 2013, workers went on strike at the factories, demanding better working conditions and higher wages. A compromise was found only in March 2014. In 2013, the company's revenue from gold exports decreased by 16.7%, to $ 73.3 million, in 2014 it amounted to $ 39.3 million.

Another almost insoluble problem was archaeological excavations at a deposit in the Sakdrisi region of Kvemo-Kartli. Tools of labor, stone hammers and other artifacts were found, proving that gold was mined in this place in the IV-III millennia BC. NS. “This is the most ancient monument of gold mining by the mining method,” explains senior researcher at the National Museum of Georgia, archaeologist Giorgi Mindiashvili. "The depth of one of the adits leading to the gold veins was 37 m." The joint work of Georgian and German archaeologists was financed by the Volkswagen Foundation.

It seemed that the conclusions of the expedition about the inadmissibility of mining gold in this place using the quarry method could not be disputed. However, in the spring of 2014, the Georgian Ministry of Culture deprived the ancient mines of the status of a monument of historical and cultural heritage. They were blown up in December. "It was terrible. Such a sad story, it seemed to me, is possible only in films, ”recalls the head of the expedition from the Georgian side, Irina Gombashidze. According to her, the archaeologists were on good terms with the previous owners of the deposit, but the new ones did not cooperate. A compromise was nevertheless found: the few finds collected over ten years will soon become part of the exposition of the new state museum in the Bolnisi region, built with funds from RMG.

According to Troitsky, at the time of the purchase, the Georgian company was in a difficult situation. The main problem there was a depletion of the resource base, but over four years of geological exploration, RMG discovered several new fields. “We were engaged in the development of all aspects of this business, which no one has done before us. Now we can look to the future with optimism, ”he says.

At the end of 2015, the company's revenue from gold exports increased by 58%, to $ 62.1 million, the revenue of the mining division copper ore and concentrate production - by 9.1%, to $ 270.6 million. In the total volume of Georgia's exports, the share of proceeds from the sale of gold and copper increased by 5 percentage points, to 15.1%,

“The asset is promising,” says Denis Rusinovich, investment director at Acmero Capital, who sold the deposits to Troitskoye. - We did not plan to sell it, the initiative came from the buyers. They offered good money - we sold. The topic of monuments in mining is constantly encountered, and these issues can be resolved. "

Investors in oblivion

Does Teder regret sharing the business with partners and losing his O'Key shares? He says that now he is doing what he loves and knows how - he builds and manages real estate. Since the IPO, the price of O'Key shares has fallen more than fivefold, the company's capitalization is $ 560 million. And its owners are working up their sleeves again. In 2015, the company was headed by the same Heigo Kera, who stood at its origins. In September 2015, the group opened their first discounter called "Yes!" Now there are 50 of them, and the O'Key group has 159 stores. The new direction was headed by Armin Berger, who worked as the managing director of the large German discounter chain Aldi. In 2012, he became a member of the board of directors of Fresh Market, which was created within the O'Key holding specifically for the development of the Da! Chain. Nevertheless, so far “OK” looks worse than its competitors: P / S is 0.2 with an industry average of 0.5 (the leader of Magnit has this multiplier of 1), EV / EBITDA is 6.2 with an industry average 7.6 (for "Magnet" - 11).

Why is capitalization not growing? The construction of a chain of discounters requires large investments, and investors perceive these investments as unconventional for a hypermarket chain and, according to Volchek, “do not believe in this startup yet”. “Apparently, we do not pay due attention to this issue. We are silent, we do not conduct active PR campaigns, and therefore we live with the fact that the value of a company on the stock exchange does not reflect its real value in any way, ”Volchek says. “The company generates about $ 190-200 million of cash, and at the same time its value on the stock exchange is $ 500 million. This is ridiculous." Mikhail Burmistrov, general director of the information and analytical agency INFOLine-Analytica, said that the company invited Anton Farlenkov, head of the analytical department of Goldman Sachs in the region of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia, to develop a three-year strategy, which became an important positive indicator for investors. At the end of 2016, the O'Key strategy may be presented. “Investors are asking us for a strategy, we have prepared it, but we want to lick it carefully,” Volchek says. Over the past six months, he himself has increased his O'Key stake from 25% to 28%.

and some people in the comments are interested in the origin of the word "Okay". Many probably have already been interested in this and know what about what, but let's repeat, especially since everything is not so simple and unambiguous there.

There are actually almost dozens of versions. Let's collect the most popular ones:

Version 1:

The most common assumption is that O.K. comes from the abbreviation of the birthplace of US President Martin Van Buuren, Old Kinderhook, New York. Van Buren chose his birthplace pseudonym, which led to the advertising slogan "Old Kinderhook is O.K." his campaign in 1840, spread by the Democratic Party, of which young and active Americans were members.

Version 2:

The second assumption is that the O.K. appeared as an abbreviation designation in a Boston newspaper in 1839. It means "oll korrect" - the misspelled "all right". This joke also did not appear out of nowhere - German proofreaders wrote "ohne korrektur" after a good article - that is, "without proofreading."

Version 3:

For example, the French believe that this expression originated during the war, when they made daily reports about the dead soldiers. They wrote "0 killed" ("0-zero killed"), which for brevity began to pronounce "O K" ("O Kay"). And later, this expression became ubiquitous by British pilots during World War II, when they reported to the base that they had no casualties and had no problems with aviation at all.

Version 4:

Another such hypothesis is that US President Jackson used this expression when making administrative decisions. He wrote "all correct" in German "oll korrekt", or "O.K." for short.

Version 5:

Another version is that "OK" comes from the modern Greek "OLA KALA", an expression used by Greek sailors and rail workers in the United States, who marked these two letters on the rails, meaning "everything is fine, everything is going well", etc. ...

Version 6:

Oklahoma residents claim that "O.K." stemmed from the abbreviated spelling of their home state adopted during one campaign.

Version 7:

There is an assumption: O.K. comes from the first letters of the name and surname of some person, for example, the Indian leader Old Keokuk'a

Version 8:

Another assumption is based on the fact that the word is borrowed from some other language or dialect of English. For example, Finnish - oikea

Language versions.
Okeh is a Choctaw word meaning "yes"
About Ke - in Mandingo language means "all is well"
Wav Kay - the people of Wolof mean "yes, really"
Omnia Correcta - in Latin means "everything is right"
Och Aye - in Scottish means "Oo, yes"
Os - comes from the Latin affirmative "hoc"

Version 9:

There is also a version that the emergence is associated with the emergence of container shipping. The port loader was responsible for marking All Keep containers. Naturally, the level of education in those distant times was not the same, especially among the loaders. And so one of them, in order not to make a bunch of mistakes, decided to write OK (and he made a mistake in the first letter!). Colleagues, who also did not want to bother with literacy, adopted ... and off we go.

Version 10:

Another very convincing version seems to be such a collective version from some of the previous ones: in the 40s of the 19th century in Boston and New York it became fashionable among young people to make abbreviations from words specially spelled incorrectly, for example, O.W. “Oll wright”, O.K. “Oll korrect”, K.Y. “Know yuse” etc. OK. even somehow appeared in the Boston press. And surely these reductions would soon have been forgotten if it had not been for the previously mentioned Van Buren, who was just running the election campaign at that time and chose “Old Kinderhook is O.K.” as his slogan. To support the election campaign, an organization called Democratic O.K. was formed. And O.K. began to be used as a slogan, and then it simply entered the speech of ordinary people.

Version 11:

However, according to some linguists, OK is of European origin and may be the initial letters of the German Oberst Kommandant or, according to the French, derive from the town of Aux Cayes in Haiti, where the best quality rum is produced.

Version 12:

Nevertheless, the British scientist put forward the version that "OK" appeared in the Shakespearean era in the English language of the time of Queen Elizabeth.

Version 13:

The most outstanding expert on the word "OK" can be called the professor of English language at Columbia University Allen Walker Reed, who decided to scientifically prove the American origin of the word. During his long scientific life, Allen has already managed to prove the origin of many words, and, above all, expressions related to the so-called "American English". In his research, Allen studied 12 versions, one of which links the appearance of "OK" with Orrin Kendall biscuits, which were supplied to Union soldiers during the American Civil War. According to another version, this word is nothing more than the term Open Key, used in the telegraphic language.

Version 14:

Other researchers American history claim that "OK" may have a more ancient origin. They attribute this expression to the American Indians using the term "oken" to answer a question in the affirmative.

Version 15:

It is also noteworthy that in the southern provinces of France (the Gascon dialect, and the dialect of the Languedoc province), the word "ok" (written as "oc") is the southern French version of pronouncing the particle "yes", as opposed to the northern French oïl (modern oui), is used in the sense of "yes", "good." It is possible that it was used as a resolution on documents, orders, etc. Taking into account the events in France, the Hundred Years War with England, the Fronde, multiple wars for the throne between huge amount applicants who are attracting different provinces to their side, including the southern ones, it can be assumed that the word "wasp" has become widespread and somewhat modified. Do not forget that Gascons often occupied the highest command posts under the king, and subordinates copied their boss with might and main, including his favorite words and manner of signing documents. Gascony also maintained ties with England, being in opposition to the central government. In this way, the word "ok" ("ok") could have got to England. Against this version is evidenced only by the difference in the spelling of "ok" ("oc", "langue d'oc"). However, it is also easy to imagine that the English changed the spelling of this word, and since there is no such word in English, they began to pronounce it as "okay." Only in recent times this word began to be interpreted as an abbreviation, and at the end of the 20th century it was often written as "Ok", without dots.

Version 16:

Obediah Kelly, a US rail freight agent, left her initials on important documents to show that everything was in order.

And now a little about the features of use:

Among many foreigners, a very common mistake associated with "positive language" is the misunderstanding of the word OK. By its origin, it is an exclamation, but in its meaning it has a broader meaning and therefore a lot "works" in English. One of the most famous publications on human relations in the United States - the book by Dr. Thomas Harris - entitled by the author I'm OK - you're OK. Everything’s fine, everything’s OK,- this is how Americans often answer the question: How are things?

Unfortunately, many foreign visitors to the United States not only consume, but sometimes abuse OK. This happens when they want to express their approval or agreement on some issue and mechanically invest in OK too much "positive charge". As a result, this word is so often used by foreigners that in a number of cases it loses all meaning. As one Italian journalist who lived for a year in America recently wrote, his compatriots, barely getting off the plane, fall asleep on those who meet them with a whole hail OK, regardless of whether they agree with the interlocutor and whether they understand what is at stake.

Although among Americans OK not as popular as in other countries, the USA is probably the only place on the planet where the semantics of this word are not distorted. Here it is not on duty, even though it is very colloquial in style. In a business, formal setting OK usually not used. For example, in response to a boss's request: Could you please have this memorandum ready by 2:00 this afternoon? not recommended answer: OK, sure, better to say: Yes, of course / Certainly / Will do. In an informal setting OK often acts as confirmation of an already agreed agreement: So we’ll meet at 6:00 at John’s place for drinks? - OK / Fine, see you later / then.

OK also used when the speaker asks a question or makes a request in anticipation of a positive answer: Is it OK with you if Helen joins us? - Of course that's OK. I'll be glad to see her.

but OK can also be used in the sense of "normal", "nothing", but not - in the sense of "fine": How are you today? - Well, I’m OK, but lately I’ve been terribly busy and I’m a bit tired. - How was the film? - It was OK / nothing special / It was an OK film but I really wouldn’t recommend it / I’m not crazy about it. OK can also mean consent, but if there are any circumstances or factors that one of the interlocutors must certainly take into account: I’ve got to go out now I’ll be back in half an hour. - OK, but be sure you’re back by 3:30 - otherwise we could miss the train.

In other contexts OK, especially repeated several times indicates displeasure or irritation speaker that the interlocutor is fooling his head:

Will you be sure to pick up the laundry on your way home? - OK, OK, I already told you I’d do that!

Jimmy, it’s ten o’clock, you’ve been watching TV for over an hour and you haven’t finished your homework! - OK, OK, mom, I'll get to it in ten minutes! I just want to see the end of this film!

About ambiguity OK especially often forgotten by Russians, who believe that this word always means only the statement - yes, all right, in the sense of "yes, I agree." But it also matters Did you understand me?("Do you understand me?"), And ignorance about this leads to frequent curiosities, one of which happened to my acquaintance from Russia. He was in the United States, but had to leave for Caracas. And to obtain a visa to Venezuela, I went to her consulate, located in a major American city. The consulate was closed. It's open from ten to twelve, OK?- “Open from ten to twelve, OK! ",- said the guard. - No, that's not OK, I need a visa -“Nothing is OK. I need a visa, ”the Russian objected. The guard did not expect consent or disagreement from the visitor at all. In this case Ok was just an exclamation, the meaning of which was close to the Russian "is it clear?"

Russians and Americans tend to address a slipped passerby differently. The Russian will ask: "Can I help you?" The American, in accordance with “ positive thinking", Will say: Are you OK ?, Are you all right? The same questions are asked to a person who clutched at his heart, although it is obvious that he does not OK and not all right. In this case, the Russian will ask: "Are you feeling bad?" which sounds logical, but darker. "

As told "DP" several former employees"", St. Petersburg billionaires, and (respectively, 19th, 20th and 21st places in) have been working in the Moscow office of the network for several months now, delving into all the business processes of their main asset. Such control of shareholders is associated with a deterioration in the financial performance of the retailer. Over the past year, O'Key, with 112 stores across the country, has demonstrated the worst growth rates among public FMCG chains.

Shareholders took the helm

According to senior analyst in the consumer goods and retail sector of Natalya Kolupaeva, O'Key really has very difficult situation... "The company needs to change its concept, positioning. It is obvious that this is what the retailer is doing now," she notes.

As previously noted by experts, Negative influence O'Kay was impacted by a ban on imports of a number of food products introduced a year ago. Before the imposition of the sanctions, the share of imports in the chain's assortment exceeded 25%, with at least 10% being goods from the sanctions list. For other public retailers, this share was noticeably lower.

Besides, the target audience O'Keya is the middle class, which in the current conditions began to save money and move to more democratic formats of stores.

Intervention of owners in the operational business management is not uncommon. So, when in 2013 the "" chain lost its leadership, and a change of top management began in the company, the co-owner of the consortium "" (the main shareholder of X5) began to participate in the operational management of the company.

In a crisis, such tendencies only get stronger. As "DP" wrote earlier, the main owner "" took the position general director company, although he held this post for 5 years.

In "" also recently there was a similar situation: the position of the general director was vacated, and the main owner took over the operational management. Over the past year and a half, the owners of the companies "" and "" have changed the general directors.

Now times are difficult, and management is required to take special actions and decisions in financial, personnel, organizational matters, but he is limited in the freedom to make such decisions and he needs to seek approval from shareholders. In order not to waste time on long approvals, business owners begin to engage in manual control... It is obvious that today something is happening in the company that requires non-standard decisions that can only be made by the owners. Now the goal is to stabilize the situation, and this kind of involvement of shareholders is quite justified. Today this is observed all the time. Of course, this raises questions and bewilderment among investors and analysts if this happens in public companies, but, on the other hand, there is successful example Since the owner's work at Magnit, the chain's shareholder Sergei Galitsky has never let the company float freely in terms of day-to-day operational management.

Nikolay Gabyshev

Head of FPB Investment Bank of Finprombank

When Mikhail Fridman (co-owner of the Alfa-Group consortium, the main shareholder of X5 Retail Group... - Ed.) Began to interact with subordinates of X5, this did not bring much result. This is quite understandable: Mikhail Fridman is such a man-space that he is too far from the earthly problems of the network. It's like Vladimir Putin would start running X5. Such people should deal with macro issues. Therefore, each situation must be considered individually, everything depends on the shareholder. For example, Andrey Rogachev (founder of Pyaterochka - Ed.) Deeply understands all the specifics of retail work, right down to the work of cashiers. In his new retail chain "Verny" he delves into many business processes, including even such issues as entering a particular position into the assortment. For O'Key, I think the return of business owners to management is a positive thing.

Sergey Lepkovich

Former Director of the North-West Branch of X5 Retail Group

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O'KEY Group of Companies has agreed with X5 RETAIL GROUP to sell the supermarket business

O'KEY Group S.A. (LSE: OKEY, "Group"), one of the largest food chains in Russia, and X5 Retail Group (hereinafter - X5), one of the leading multi-format retail companies Russia, are reported to have reached an agreement to acquire X5 of the supermarket business, which currently operate under the O KEY brand. FAS Russia has approved the request.

All materials published by the Company are available on its website at www.okeyinvestors.ru.

The perimeter of the deal will include a business consisting of 32 supermarkets, 18 of which are located in St. Petersburg, 4 in Moscow, 2 in Volgograd, as well as one each in the Moscow and Leningrad regions, in Astrakhan, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Togliatti, Krasnodar and Novocherkassk. According to the agreements, the transaction also includes real estate objects (supermarket buildings) belonging to the O'KEY group of companies: 14 locations (13 in St. Petersburg and 1 in Moscow). All stores are planned to be integrated into the Perekrestok retail chain.

X5's legal advisor is White & Case, O'KEY is Herbert Smith Freehills.

General Director of O'KEY Group of Companies Miodrag Boroyevich noted:“We are delighted that we were able to conclude an agreement with X5 Retail Group to sell our supermarket business. The structure of the company, updated following the results of the transaction, will allow us to focus on the main strategic priorities of our business - improving the efficiency of compact urban hypermarkets and accelerating the growth of the discounter business ”.

Igor Shekhterman, CEO of X5 Retail Group, commented:“The deal is fully in line with our strategy to strengthen Perekrestok's position as the leading supermarket chain in Russia. By focusing on the organic development of X5's business, we also use other opportunities to take quality locations in strategically important regions. "

Issuing an O'KEY card free of charge within 10 days

Organizer of the action:

LLC "O'KEY" (OGRN 1027810304950); term of the promotion: from April 13, 2015 to August 12, 2015

Terms of action:

Provision of a discount of 10% of the check amount to holders of O'KEY loyal customer cards (hereinafter referred to as the “O'KEY card”). Discount does not apply to tobacco products, as well as for alcoholic beverages, if the cost of the goods, taking into account the discount, is lower than the minimum retail prices established by law. The discount is not cumulative with other discounts, if there are two or more discounts for the same product, the highest is applied;
The cost of the O'KEY card is 55 rubles. The number of O'KEY cards is limited. The promotion is valid subject to the availability of O'KEY cards. The organizer of the action has the right to complete the action before the expiration of the term.

Place of the action:

Hypermarket O`KEY in Cherepovets, st. Raahe, 2.

Rules for the sale of goods using a gift voucher for the O KEY chain of stores.

1. An O'KEY gift coupon is a paper coupon of a fixed denomination with an individual number corresponding to the date of its issue, and several degrees of protection.

2. O'KEY gift vouchers are purchased and used when purchasing goods in the O'KEY hypermarket and supermarket chain.

3. The gift voucher confirms that the purchaser has made an advance payment for the upcoming purchase of goods. The fact of purchasing a gift voucher is the conclusion of a preliminary agreement and confirms the intention of the owner of the gift voucher to conclude in the future the main contract for the retail sale of goods by purchasing any goods in the O'KEY hypermarket and supermarket chain, which is confirmed by the issuance of a cash register receipt to the buyer.

4. Buyers of a gift voucher can be both individuals and legal entities.

5. Gift coupons are only held by individuals.

6. The gift coupon is freely transferable to any person and is presentation. A contract for the retail sale of goods using a gift voucher as a means of payment can be concluded by any person holding the gift voucher.

7. A gift voucher gives its owner the right to a one-time purchase of any number of goods in the O'KEY hypermarket and supermarket chain for a total amount equivalent to the face value of the gift voucher indicated on its front side.

8. The amount of money contributed by the owner of the gift voucher towards the advance payment corresponds to the face value of the gift voucher. The specified amount of the face value is used by the buyer when purchasing the goods at a time and in full, after which the gift coupon is considered redeemed and remains with the seller.

9. The gift coupon is non-refundable and non-exchangeable for cash or for another gift coupon.

10. When purchasing goods for an amount less than the face value indicated on the front side of the gift coupon, the remaining funds will not be returned to the buyer.

11. When purchasing goods for an amount greater than the face value indicated on the face of the gift coupon, the buyer pays the difference in cash or by bank transfer, including using payment bank cards.

12. The gift voucher is valid only for purchasing goods in the O'KEY hypermarket and supermarket chain.

13. A gift coupon has a limited validity period indicated on the front of the coupon, or, if no validity period is specified, - 3 years from the coupon activation date.

14. Upon the expiration of its validity period, the gift voucher cannot be used to pay for goods in the O'KEY hypermarket and supermarket chain, the funds used to purchase the gift voucher will not be returned.

15. A gift coupon purchased by a legal entity is activated on the date of signing the contract for the sale of the coupon (s) by affixing a seal, signature of an authorized person and entering information about the sale into the coupon activation database. Gift coupon purchased natural person, is activated on the date of its purchase by affixing a seal, signature of an authorized person and entering information about the sale into the database of activated coupons.

16. The gift coupon is invalid without the seal and signature of the authorized persons of the O'KEY hypermarket and supermarket chain. When purchasing a gift voucher, the purchaser is obliged to verify the proper activation of the coupon.

17. Gift coupons that are damaged, which do not allow their identification in the database of activated cards, or gift coupons, the authenticity of which has doubts from the seller's representatives, are not accepted for payment for goods.

18. Warranty service, exchange and return of low-quality goods purchased using a gift coupon is carried out in the general procedure provided for by the current legislation of the Russian Federation.

19. In case of loss, damage or theft, the gift voucher is not restored and its value is not compensated.

20. The rules for using gift coupons may be supplemented and / or changed by the Issuing Company unilaterally. Information about this will be posted on the website in a timely manner.

Rules for the sale of goods using a gift card of the O "KEY" chain of stores.

1. The O'KEY gift card is a plastic card of a fixed value with a magnetic stripe and a barcode.

2. O'KEY gift cards are purchased and used when purchasing goods in the O'KEY hypermarket and supermarket chain.

3. The gift card confirms that the purchaser has made an advance payment for the upcoming purchase of goods. The fact of purchasing a gift card is the conclusion of a preliminary agreement and confirms the intention of the owner of the gift card to conclude in the future the main contract for the retail sale of goods by purchasing any goods in the O'KEY hypermarket and supermarket chain, which is confirmed by the issuance of a cash register receipt to the buyer.

4. Buyers of a gift card can be both individuals and legal entities.

5. Gift card holders are only natural persons.

6. The gift card is freely transferable to any person and is a bearer. A contract for retail sale of goods using a gift card as a means of payment can be concluded by any person who is a gift card holder.

7. The gift card gives its owner the right to a one-time purchase of any number of goods in the O'KEY hypermarket and supermarket chain for a total amount equivalent to the face value of the gift card indicated on its front side.

8. The amount of money contributed by the owner of the gift card towards the advance payment corresponds to the face value of the gift card. The specified amount of face value is used by the buyer when purchasing the goods at a time and in full, after which the gift card is considered canceled and remains with the seller.

9. A gift card cannot be returned or exchanged for cash or another gift card.

10. When buying a product for an amount less than the face value indicated on the face of the gift card, the balance of funds is not returned to the buyer.

11. When purchasing goods for an amount greater than the face value indicated on the face of the gift card, the buyer pays the difference in cash or by bank transfer, including using payment bank cards.

12. The gift card is valid only for purchasing goods in the O'KEY hypermarket and supermarket chain.

13. The gift card has a limited validity period indicated on the face of the card.

14. Upon expiration of its validity period, the gift card cannot be used to pay for goods in the O'KEY hypermarkets and supermarkets, the funds used to purchase the gift card will not be returned.

15. The gift card has its own individual number corresponding to the date of its issue, and several degrees of protection. A gift card purchased by a legal entity is activated on the date of signing the card sale agreement by entering information about the sale into the card activation database. A gift card purchased by an individual is activated on the date of its purchase by entering information about the sale into the database of activated cards.

16. An unactivated gift card is invalid. When purchasing a gift card, the purchaser is obliged to verify the proper activation of the card.

17. Gift cards that are damaged, which do not allow their identification in the database of activated cards, or gift cards, the authenticity of which the seller's representatives have doubts about, are not accepted for payment for goods.

18. Warranty service, exchange and return of low-quality goods purchased using a gift card is carried out in accordance with the general procedure provided for by the current legislation of the Russian Federation.

19. In case of loss, damage or theft, the gift card is not restored and its value is not compensated.

20. The rules for using gift cards may be supplemented and / or changed by the Issuing Company unilaterally. Information about this will be posted on the website in a timely manner.

21. These rules take precedence over the short rules set out on the gift card holder in the event of a dispute.