Katerina Doroshevskaya and Alina Shcherbina
Ukrainian Brands Market Be In Ua, Dnipro
Market fair featuring Ukrainian brands of clothing, footwear, accessories and decor in Dnipro.
Katerina Doroshevskaya and Alina Shcherbina first had their idea for a market promoting Ukrainian brands in 2016. The women had an active interest in Ukrainian design and saw potential for development in their hometown of Dnipro. The absence of a business education (both Katerina and Alina are journalists) did not put them off and they organized their first producers fair, bringing together 50 Ukrainian brands of clothing, footwear and accessories. By the close of their third event, the number of community brand members had grown to 120, and the number of customers visiting the fair — 5,000.
About the Training
The women mention that the Creative Enterprise Programme opened their eyes to many things, helped clarify their goals, mission, and vision. The pair regularly return to their training notes and employ concepts that they learned about at the training. The programme led to beneficial acquaintanceships, with one groupmate currently selling in their market, and other groupmates have become regular customers.
Over a nine month period, the market organizers interviewed about 3,000 visitors and prepared a needs analysis to help brands adapt their products on offer. In November 2017, a showroom for Ukrainian-made products opened its doors in Dnipro to run in parallel with the market. The future plans include finding a better location and they dream of opening a full-time shop expanding the range of their selections.
Dnipro is lacking in educational opportunities and the entrepreneurs hope to start a brand school, where guest experts will instruct local producers in the how and why of brand development.
Key achievements:
● Over 1.5 years of activity, sales have increased threefold;
● Conducted 18 market fairs;
● Opened a Ukrainian brand showroom;
● Expanded partner network (food festival, tourist information centre);
● Introduced open lectures on business;
● Introduced new offers: stylist services, shopping tours, photo sessions;
● Invested in equipment for the fair.