News of Prostor’s closure led to a fivefold increase in sales
Olga Buchkovska, Commercial Director at Prostor, spoke about this in an interview with *Ekonomichna Pravda*; in the CEO’s temporary absence, she is the company’s most senior executive.
According to her, the company remains on the market and will continue to operate. At the same time, Prostor has indeed reduced the number of its retail outlets as part of its optimisation efforts: the chain has closed around 80 underperforming shops, bringing the total number down from 468 to 386.
Buchkovska explained that closing underperforming locations is standard practice in the retail sector. The company is reviewing its lease terms, logistics, product range and marketing policy to improve the efficiency of the stores remaining in the network.
In May, the average Prostor store across the network generated 20% more revenue than in the same period last year. The company’s objective was for 390 shops to generate the same revenue as the previous 468. According to her, Prostor achieved this target on 25 May.
Separately, Buchkovska commented on reports of an alleged phased closure of outlets from 1 July. She stated that no such process would begin on that date, and that the optimisation had already been completed. According to her, the network will not have fewer than 380 shops.
The company has also changed its pricing policy. Prostor has started running ‘happy hours’ with discounts of 50–80 per cent on selected items. According to Buchkovska, the additional footfall during these hours accounted for 50–60 per cent of the total.
A rush of customers ensued following reports of the chain’s alleged closure. Shoppers responded to the promotional offers, and sales, according to the commercial director, increased fivefold.
Buchkovska denied the suggestion that the company itself might have started the rumour of closure to boost sales. She stated that Prostor was not behind the fake news, but rather behind a change in pricing policy.
The chain wants to move away from the perception of being a “stylish and slightly expensive” shop and shift towards a model of lower prices. The company is also considering adding new product categories and changing the brand’s image, including a possible minor rebranding.
In the market, Prostor competes with EVA, which posted a net profit of 1 billion hryvnia last year. Prostor itself, according to *Ekonomichna Pravda*, ended last year with a loss of 383 million hryvnia.
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