Shernek Helmar Biography

By clicking on the button, you consent to the processing of your personal data on September 25, share Helmar Shernek, “Commander”: “Working on the future is more profitable than selling and getting fast money” So far, some regional networks merge with federal ones, others are building independent development plans. Helmar Shernek, the new general director of the Krasnoyarsk network, believes that the company has great growth potential, which is much more efficient to realize.

The new leader has the task of providing the networks for long -term competitiveness. I grew up and graduated from the University in Germany, labor began in retail trade - the famous Norma discounter. This is a fairly large local company with a turnover of about 7 billion euros. We can say that I come from discounters. Then he moved to Russia, where he worked on the Media Markt network.

The German player of electronic and household appliances managed to grow in the Russian market from one store to the federal network. This is an average format with an area of ​​1.5 to 5 thousand. The next step in his career was Azerbaijan, where I led a fast food network with my own production. He worked in the Ob for three more years, and this is a hypermarket with an assortment of 30 thousand.

Thus, we can say that I went through the entire spectrum of retail: I worked in the discount, I know what a local player is, I have experience managing the supermarket and hypermarket formats, as well as my own production. This is very similar to the structure of the "commander". My previous experience was separate parts of the puzzle, and now I can put everything in one company and perfectly use everything that I learned here.

I felt that it suits me. And most importantly - it was a mutual sensation. Four months of adaptation helped me to deeply feel the company and see how it works. It is very valuable for me that it is a local company, one of the largest in the Siberian market. Now federal networks are capturing the market and are increasingly doing this, buying local players to quickly increase the share.

Recently, the Irkutsk networks of Skat and Bread-Sol and the Krasnoyarsk Red Yar and Baton were bought and are now integrated into a federal company. We decided to engage in our future, it is much more effective than selling. Theoretically, you can always sell, and it is especially easy to do it in a growing market. But why sell if we don’t even know what we are capable of, and how much profit can be obtained in five years, and how much times the cost of the company will increase.

It is better not to sell, but to work in the long run, it is always more profitable than getting fast money. My wife is Russian, my son was born in Moscow, and although he has double citizenship, he was only three times in Germany, and for him Moscow is his hometown, and Russia is a native country. I often call myself a Russified German, mastered the culture, accepted mentality, people and the market.

I want to become not only a resident of Krasnoyarsk, but also a real Siberian. The supermarket "Commander". Of course, the market of each country has its own characteristics, but it is most comfortable for me to talk about what is happening in the home, Russian market. Here, the discounter is gaining momentum. In Europe, and in particular in Germany, this concept is many more years: the Aldi network was created by the famous Albrecht brothers in the middle of the x.

I observe how the discounter adapts in the Russian market. A person wants to get a maximum - to save, but not sacrifice beauty. Now the concept is moving from hard-discaunter to the discounter, which takes into account both the design concept and the quality of services. The second topic is E-Commerce, which is actively developing both networks and marketplaces.

I will say how German: in online trading and banking, Russia is much more advanced than Germany. Here you can order products in a mobile application and get them in twenty minutes, the Germans will not appear soon. This is cool, and on this wave we must also develop. Therefore, E-Commerce is another point of growth of the Commander. To develop with the market, and precisely in the long term.

At the same time, it is advisable not only to be in trend, but also to ahead of the trends, to act proactively. After one of the first interviews, I wrote down for myself: "A very wise formulation of the goal." I received management of the company, and it is important for me to prepare it for the future, continue to grow, while respecting and maintaining DNA.

Can you name the main theses of this vision? Management of these formats is quite different. The key difference is the speed of control, decision making, changes in the assortment, turnover. To maximize the use of the discount potential and traditional formats, different management processes are needed. These are the two worlds of retail trade that is very different. And both of them should get a higher level of freedom and independence of development.

Our competitors also highlight such “branches” for independent management. This is a more effective style than general management.I suggested the board of directors to further develop and strengthen such differentiation. Great formats grow very well against the trend - “Alley” and “Commander”. Usually retailers think that if the format is no longer in trend, they should not be engaged in, but I believe that even in a decreasing market you can increase their own share.

We can better use the potential of traditional formats and at the same time do everything possible for the development of a discounter. Our DNA is its own production, bakery, cooking, confectionery. For me, seeing a high level of my own production was a miracle. In the European part of Russia, this is far from so developed. The federals begin to add bakery, products of a high degree of readiness, but in the "Commander" this was a long time ago.

In stores, most bakers have a full production cycle, so there it smells seductively with fresh bread, which the baker carries into the hall on the tray. Many stores have workshops, and it is impressive. We will scald bakers in order to offer fresh bread in more stores. I believe that each format is far from the full realization of the potential. In the region, it is necessary to configure the assortment depending on the demand of the local client.

This is one of the main success factors. We go out into the street and see that the “Commander”, “Pyaterochka”, “Magnit” are located approximately at the same distance from each other, and I want people to go to us. This will turn out if we correspond to local demand. More people should know what they buy from the locals. We have a high proportion of local suppliers.

The commercial department is actively looking for in the local markets of Siberia, Tyvs, Khakassia of local manufacturers and offers cooperation. We conclude not disposable, but long -term contracts. And, when we begin to work with them, we are interested in developing them. We support the regional economy, we develop our own production, so we can safely say: we, from here, work for people who live here.

I call this "power of Siberia." In the "Commander" there is already localization of the assortment, and it will develop further. We will even more communicate with the buyer on this topic, touch upon his emotions, swim in the wave of local patriotism. And this is a potential field of development, growth point and differentiation from competitors. The slogan of the campaign dedicated to the company's birthday - "We live Siberia for 24 years." This motive - that we are our own, local - we want to strengthen in all further communications.

Discounter "good". What impression did you have about the company during this time? I was given the opportunity to work with the previous director Pavel Shambir, it was a great honor for me to accept the company from him, to learn the nuances and insider information. I consider this transfer of affairs very wise and professional. Pavel continues to work in the company as a member of the Board of Directors, so we interact tightly.

I have great respect for the previous director. This is a personal achievement - to manage companies that have been the leader of the market for many years. The company has more than 10 thousand employees, many of them work for several years. This is the core, DNA and the indisputable value of the company. The development of the future while maintaining DNA is a very good formula for success.

And I will maintain the soul of the “commander” and add new, so that the company retains its competitiveness. Where we are already in the market, I want to continue to grow with the market, where we are not yet in the market, to catch up with its pace. We have tasks expressed in the numbers of sales, profits, the number of stores, but we are not yet ready to voice them.

I can only say that the plans are ambitious, because of this I came here: I love ambitious tasks and see the opportunity to implement them. Valeria Mironova, Retail.