Could you give us some more background information on your company in terms of its history, structure and main activities today?
ARDUS is a joint venture between Uzbekistan, USA and Switzerland, which was created in May 1995. Today our company has the largest supermarket network in the country, based on our main approach, which are supermarkets with retail trade. In September 1995 we opened the first supermarket near the Alay market in Tashkent. At that moment there were already several large shops called supermarkets operating in Tashkent, and initially we did not even think whether it would be a large shop or a supermarket or even the name of it. Moreover I should mention that it was not us who called it a supermarket but rather when people started shopping here they started also calling it a supermarket. When we were involved in the document preparation for our business we understood that it meets the criteria of a supermarket. We had fully understood the task that supermarkets have to play, and it was very important for us because at that time we had already a plan to open a network of supermarkets. Of course, I should mention that our investors the American and Swiss companies, were very important for us right at the beginning of our activity. In 1995 our country was still young and consequently businessmen realizing that our country has a lot of potential made the right decision by choosing to invest in Uzbekistan, which was of course possible due to the policy in Uzbekistan conducted by the president and the government. So, they trusted our country, our leader, and the potential of Uzbekistan and that was the major reason we have our company and that we have wide cooperate with others.
Today we employ about 800 people and the average age of our workers is about 26 years old. As you see our company is very young in terms of its age and the age of its employees. The reason young people work for us is that due to the changes that took place after the fall of Soviet Union, they have finally received an opportunity to show their skills and abilities. I would like to point out that during the times of the former Soviet Union, a person who was talented and capable could not fulfill their potential, whereas now we tend to push our youth to be creative not only within our company but also for country as well.
Are your products mainly imported or are they local and what types of products are they?
As I said before we chose a few approaches and the most important is to supply high quality goods with a high service level for our customers. In 1995 we imported really high quality goods for Uzbekistan, which was a bit expensive for the people but nevertheless they realized what a high quality good means. Due to the changes taking place in the country I must note that the production of food and non-food products is rapidly developing, and if you come to our supermarkets you will see that the percentage of goods produced in Uzbekistan has highly increased.
What is your target group here?
As our country is young the market is also very young and therefore in my opinion certain kinds of rules in the market that we studied are not valid sometimes because our market has its own peculiarities. The reason is that our country went through a transition period from socialism to the free market economy and we are obliged to learn the rules right in the process of transforming. So, while targeting our customers it is really hard for us to tell at the moment who are our main customers. It probably sounds odd but if you visit our supermarkets and spend about three hours there you will see that customers are mainly those with average and high level of income. At the moment, we are trying to expand our approaches in order to cover and attract the other social layers of the population
Can you give us some more figures in terms of your turnover last year?
The turnover last year made up slightly more than 1,3 billion sums. | Can you tell us more about your cafes and are there any new projects in the future? Do you want to broaden your activity?
As I mentioned before our main activity is to further develop the supermarket network. However, besides the supermarket network, we have also a network of small shops, which mainly sell clothes. We are currently working in Zarafshan complex which is a historical place, highly visited for many years and it is located in the center of the city. It always has been the most popular place for rest among the people and the guests of Tashkent. Due to the worsening of the economic situation during the Soviet Union this place had badly deteriorated. Nevertheless, the investments and the profits earned here helped us to reconstruct and revive the complex. It should be mentioned that the dividends earned here by our investors during two years were reinvested to the further development of Zarafshan complex. After the initial renovation of the complex we started establishing and setting up other activities, such as the creation of the supermarket, the reconstruction of cafes and restaurants, the opening of a billiard club, automatic playing machines for children, and a commercial bank inside the building. There was created a large and unique concert hall which is unique not in the Central Asia but also in the territory of the former Soviet Union.
Actually many journalists ask the same questions. Our goal was not just to start our business quickly, and create a supermarket where we bring our goods, but rather it is more complex since it involves many people and a huge material and technical base. Moreover, our system is also computerized. Our plans in the near future is to expand our material and technical base for provision of everything we have already created, which is due to the competition we have at the moment. I think that we should not get involved in the super projects which might seem attractive at this point, but to concentrate on improving the customer service. Since the competition is getting stronger we won't be able to realize our plans without a strong financial position.
As for the long-term plans, we are still planning to expand in the same direction, and consequently into going to produce new products but to expand and develop what we have today including our supermarkets, restaurants, show business, etc.
Could you tell us a little bit about your background and also what would be your final message to our readers that are potential investors to Uzbekistan?
I am 32 years old and I was born in Tashkent. I graduated from a secondary school, and after I got enrolled into the university, after my freshman year I was sent to serve in the Soviet army, for two years. Then I continued my studies in Tashkent, and I graduated from the Institute of Irrigation. After that, I started working at the ĞLadağ car repair factory for 5 years.
After our country gained its independence I realized that I had to study more. Then I decided to go to study in Australia, but by that time I was married and took my wife there, and our son was born in Australia. I graduated from an institute there and started working. I met many businessmen who gave me a lot of ideas in regards to business activities. Consequently, all those business relationships played a big role in creation of our company.
As to my message to the readers, first of all, I'm flattered that your magazine has shown its interest not only in Uzbekistan but also in our company. I would request your readers that are not familiar with Uzbekistan yet to try to find out more about our country because there is still a lot of potential that needs to be explored. I hereby also invite all of them to come and find out themselves, because seeing in reality is totally different from reading the magazine. So, please come and find your partners or friends.
NOTE: World Investment News Ltd cannot be made responsible for the content of unedited transcriptions. |
