Bankruptcy hearings on a leading Ukrainian electronic retailer
Acording to Kyiv Post publication, Kyiv’s Economic Court said this week it had initiated bankruptcy hearings on a leading Ukrainian electronics retailer, Domotekhnika. It remains unclear whether the company itself or a creditor is driving the bankruptcy, but the case serves as a signal of mounting debt at retailers who were heavily dependent upon short-term financing of import goods, such as televisions, home appliances and computers. Domotekhnika posted Hr 202 million in losses January through March 2009, compared to Hr 271 million in net profits during the same period last year. Demand for imports has sharply fallen due to economic recession and sharp devaluation of Ukraine’s currency.
Domotekhnika’s press service refused to comment on the issue, according to Interfax. A salesperson at one of the group’s stores in Kyiv said: “We are working normally. We have no idea where you could have received information about our alleged bankruptcy.” Domotekhnika traces its roots to 1995. Last year, it operated 27 electronics supermarkets across 14 Ukrainian cities with a total retail space of 53,000 square meters, including the Kyiv store illustrated in the above photograph.