The holding company "Marko" will include the Belarusian-Spanish sports footwear manufacturer "Belkelmi"

The holding company "Belarusian Leather and Footwear Company "Marko" has acquired a package of shares in the sports footwear manufacturer CJSC SP "Belkelme" (Brest region) and expects to increase the annual production volume at the Beloozersk facility several times over, to 1 million pairs.

As reported by the General Director of "Marko", Nikolai Martynov, the deal has been completed at the moment, and a regulatory legal act on the inclusion of the Belarusian-Spanish "Belkelme" into the holding company is being prepared.

In parallel, issues of investment support for production in Beloozersk are also being addressed today, and the product range policy and possible organizational changes are being determined. According to Nikolai Martynov's assessment, at least 1 million dollars are planned to be allocated for the renewal of fixed assets there in 2016 alone, and at least another 1.5 million dollars will be required for replenishing working capital. The joint venture will retain its sports specialization (while the similar line at ChUPP "San Marko" will be closed) and it is planned to additionally develop the production of beach footwear using the injection molding method there. The implementation of these plans will require the creation of 100 to 150 new jobs.

According to Nikolai Martynov's assessment, among the possible changes, the new co-owner considers it necessary to highlight the trade component and establish a separate organization for the development of branded retail.

– Today, we see that sales through the branded network are going much better, so we intend to create an analogue of "Marko-Service" there, which will specialize in trade activities, – added the General Director.

As a result of the deal, the holding company may accelerate the process of achieving a production capacity of 5 million pairs of shoes per year, as stipulated by the decree on its establishment.

According to information from OJSC "Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange", the transaction for the purchase and sale of a package of shares of CJSC SP "Belkelme" was registered on September 1, 2015. A total of 1.3 thousand securities were acquired for an amount of almost 902 million rubles.

Sergey Antonov, "Vitebskiye Vesti".