THE ROWS WHOLESALE CLUB TERMINATES ITS ACTIVITIES

Founded five years ago by August Meyer and Dmitry Kostygin, the Rows Wholesale Club network will terminate the activities on September 14. The outlets of network operated in the original warehouse format and provided decent discounts to customers with the status of “club” members, but were never able to achieve stable profits. The company’s plans to open 22 establishments in the format of the wholesale club by next year, previously discussed by the owners, have never come true.

The Rows Wholesale Club (the BigBox Company) has managed to attract a sufficient number of clients (there are more than 100 thousand cardholders) during the period of work. The average receipt amount of 3,200 rubles also testified to the high results of the sales demonstrated by outlets.

The representatives of the company themselves note that the external circumstances have become negative factors for the development of trade in the low-cost format.

One of the main factors, according to experts, was the reputation of the founders of The Rows. The shareholder conflict in Yulmart (another asset of Meyer and Kostygin) and the subsequent bankruptcy led to the fact that potential counterparties began to fear to acquire any assets from the owners of the network.

After the shutdown of a hypermarket in the Moscow region a couple of months ago, the owners announced that they would use the funds from its sale to build another (fourth in a row) Rows hypermarket in the Leningrad region. However, those three retail outlets on Pulkovskoye, Murmanskoye Highways and Shafirovsky Prospect, which were operating, will also be closed now.

Will the owners of the BigBox Company be able to settle accounts with creditors and not bring the situation to the next bankruptcy?

The representatives of the company state that the network's assets are much larger than the debt obligations to employees, suppliers and other partners. However, the company's counterparties are expressing concern, citing the problem with solvency, which arose back in 2019.

Many customers have previously complained about delays in paying for goods several times (two to three months instead of 30-40 days indicated in the contract). Some of the former suppliers have already stopped working with the company. About 30 applications have been filed in the Commercial Court for the collection of debts from the company for more than 60 million rubles.

Experts also note that the business in the format of wholesale clubs was late in entering the market of the largest cities in Russia in 2015. The lack of well-thought-out marketing activity that would allow the company to detach itself from competitors is another factor that finally sunk the Ryady network.