It’s time to break free of Private Label
Мебель в Киеве ЭНРАН, apparently, without a stretch, can be attributed to the old-timers of the industry. Becoming the first Ukrainian manufacturer of full-cycle furniture – from design development to sale and installation of the final product – Enran company strengthened its reputation, confirmed its intellectual and technological capabilities, which it does not lose, but only increases. She is also among the founding companies of the Ukrainian Association of Furniture Manufacturers (why nonetheless terminated her membership, it will be discussed further). Of course, there is also a long export history, which was described by Marina Voronkova, Deputy Sales Director.
Like most reputable furniture makers of the “pre-war generation”, Enran had Russia as an important (if not main) importer of products. But for well-known and annoying reasons, the Russian strategic export direction was blocked. All over the same Russia had to actually lose the Kazakh market, which is also quite attractive and promising for Ukrainian furniture. It has become more problematic to work with Georgia.
Export reorientation led to commodity. Previously, Enran’s main export product was furniture panels. But in Western markets, it was not competitive: Romanian prevailed. And then the company undertook to establish export of furniture products in a western direction. Quite specific, admittedly, is retail equipment for retail. And quite successfully, because now Germany is the main importer of its products. Isn’t she the only one, being a diversified manufacturer, Enran sells its products to a number of countries near and far abroad, but Germany is still a priority.
Of course, sincerely rejoicing for such a solid export property of the Ukrainian manufacturer, we could not help but marvel at it, because it is known that Germany is one of the leaders in European furniture and perhaps the largest world exporter of furniture products. What is the need for exporting this with Ukraine itself?
My interlocutor explained a paradox that is actually not a paradox. Entrepreneurial Germans organized their furniture “gesheft” in such a way that in reality they do not sell so many furniture of their own production. A significant part of their exports – profitably imported furniture products – from the same Ukraine, maybe neighboring Poland, which, with the consent of the manufacturer, will be re-branded to German. In general, Private Label sales are a fairly common occurrence in the world. Foreign companies willingly use this scheme, “promoted”, and Ukrainian ones contribute to this, they have their own benefit: in this way they push their products to foreign markets with less difficulty. German furniture companies turned out to be especially skilled in such “appropriation” of a stranger. Enran also became addicted to one of them. I got voluntarily, so here I blame anyone. By the time the task was to export to Europe, Private Label was an affordable way to enter the foreign market fairly quickly and with significant volumes of products. But the compulsory abdication of her brand, Ms. Marina admits, has always been a “callous”, even despite significant financial benefits, so the company began to gradually get rid of this dependence, finding foreign customers who agree to direct deliveries, to preserve the brand of the Ukrainian manufacturer.
It never happens that everything went smoothly. At first, Russia blocked Enran’s export road to the East, now Poland, limiting permits for transit road transport, blocked the road to Germany. We have to deliver goods – and these deliveries are regular and of solid volumes – almost bypass, through Slovakia. Since everyone rushed through the Polish intransigence to the Slovak border, so much transport is accumulating there, one of these days you have to wait your turn to go through customs control. Undoubtedly, such a situation causes Ukrainian exporters with great inconvenience and logistical risks, but Enran has repeatedly proved that it is a strong company. And experienced, which is capable of adapting to them, if not overcoming the difficulties that arise, at least with the least losses.
To the question “returning the company – after several termination of membership – to UAFM, which is now making significant efforts for export assistance to its members, is dictated by the desire to use such assistance too?” Marina Voronkova answered: “Together, of course, it’s easier to beat father, but we They returned not so much in order to get something, but in order to give something to colleagues, because the experience in furnishing the company really does not take. We also shared it with great pleasure and to the termination of membership, which occurred due to, so to speak, ideological disagreements with the previous leadership of the Association. The current leadership acts so that we can go in the same direction, and here we are again keeping up with the Association. ”

The section “Success Stories” was founded as part of a grant project with the support of the Swiss Cooperation Bureau in Ukraine, the name of the project: “Improving the level of cooperation and trust with joint participation in international and national public procurement” – TENDER TOGETHER.