Belwest reduced its warehouse stocks by 22% over the year

August 19, Minsk / Tatyana Chumakova - BELTA /. As of August 1, 2010, the finished goods inventory of SOOO "Belvest" decreased by 22% compared to the same date last year. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the company's financial director, Larisa Suslova. Last year, the company opened 18 new retail outlets, which also helped increase the volume of products sold. This year, it is planned to open more than 20 stores. According to the financial director, despite the global crisis, SOOO "Belvest" managed to timely expand its customer base and intensify the development of its own distribution network in Belarus and abroad. The volume of products sold abroad in the first half of this year increased by 30% compared to January-June of last year. The main export region is Russia. Shoes are also supplied to Latvia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Estonia, and Ukraine. Cooperation with Kazakhstan is actively developing to increase exports, and negotiations are underway with Poland and Germany, which are expected to become new export regions soon. To boost product sales, "Belvest" updates its product range twice a year with more than 50% new items. Each seasonal collection, "Spring-Summer" and "Autumn-Winter," includes about 350 models (1000 SKUs). The company's designers actively collaborate with Italian designers and constantly attend international exhibitions, which contributes to the creation of new, interesting shoe models. Some of "Belvest's" collections are designed by Italian fashion designers. At the end of each season, the company holds seasonal sales. In January-July of this year, SOOO "Belvest" produced 806 thousand pairs of shoes worth Br64.825 billion. The production growth rate was 110.9% compared to the corresponding period last year. Overall, the volume of products sold in the first half of this year increased by 30% compared to the same period last year. In the first 7 months of this year, Br1.256 billion was invested in fixed assets. Of this amount, Br472 million was allocated to the development of the retail network, and Br784 million was invested in the modernization and technical re-equipment of production. The "Belvest" company was founded in 1988. Since the end of 2002, "Belvest" has been a Belarusian-Russian enterprise. It produces footwear, including boots, shoes, high boots, sandals, moccasins, and clogs. -0-