“Dubok”<\/a>, to find out how this adaptation took place within the company.<\/p>\n\u2014 The target audience has changed \u2014 and we have changed accordingly. Our approaches to sales, scaling, and business development strategy and goals have also shifted.<\/em><\/p>\nFirst of all, we decided to focus on developing our business in Europe, since that market is more stable and predictable than our domestic one. That said, the Ukrainian market is no longer as unstable as it was during the first year of the war. Despite the continuing challenges, it remains a priority for us. The foreign direction is our experiment, which started in startup format right after the full-scale invasion. It is developing in parallel with our efforts to strengthen positions in the domestic market.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\u2014 How far have you progressed with your international expansion?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u2014 Some things are already up and running; others are in active development. For example, we\u2019ve opened our first showroom in Prague. We\u2019re also setting up online sales in the Czech Republic, and another online store will soon launch in Slovakia.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\u2014 What can be done to improve service in Ukrainian furniture retail?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u2014 For us, it\u2019s important that the fairly high level of customer service we had before the full-scale war has been maintained even in these tougher conditions.<\/em>
Of course, there\u2019s always room for improvement, and furniture retailers could offer a wider range of services and move to a higher level \u2014 but is the customer ready to pay for that? We clearly understand that our segment is currently not ready. So it\u2019s important to maintain a balance between what we can offer and what our customers can afford.<\/em><\/p>\nIt\u2019s also important to consider that the level of service largely depends on the price segment of the furniture sold by a given retailer. For instance, we focus on the mid and slightly lower price segments. Customers in this category don\u2019t expect the kind of in-depth service a premium client might. For example, services like a personal account manager guiding the customer from order placement to final installation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\u2014 Your company can fairly be called a socially responsible furniture retailer. That\u2019s backed by the fact that your team actively participates in reforestation and urban greening efforts \u2014 planting thousands of trees every year. Are you still doing that during the war?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u2014 Let\u2019s just say \u2014 we\u2019ve resumed it. At the start of the full-scale invasion, we focused on helping the army, supporting displaced people, and caring for our staff. But in time, we returned to tree planting. A recent example: in April, we responded to an initiative by the Lviv City Council and helped green the Sykhiv district by planting maple and cherry blossom trees.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\u2014 So this year, you\u2019ll be working on more than just international expansion?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u2014 Yes, we have other plans \u2014 and they\u2019re quite ambitious. We aim to scale our retail network, update our product line, and expand our assortment, including through private collections. This will allow us to offer our potential customers the exact products they need.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n\t\t