How Eduard Kitsenko was forced to remember the old deal with Yakov Panchenko
A couple of years ago, the names of businesspeople Yakov Panchenko, Eduard Kitsenko, his wife Polina were already mentioned together in business news. Now, in the new economic context, their difficult relationship has again appeared in the media, entered the second round. But new names and new companies have appeared in today's texts.
The online retailer Lamoda (offering affordable prices, good quality, and free delivery) was established by entrepreneurs from Germany in 2011 and operates in the markets of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. At the same time, the international holding Global Fashion Group (GFG), registered in Luxembourg, was established. The holding, in addition to Lamoda, also encompasses other online platforms operating in Latin America, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.
Following the start of a special military operation in Ukraine in the spring, the company halted investments in Lamoda and announced the suspension of the construction of the online retailer's second warehouse in Russia. However, the online store continues to operate. In October, it was revealed that the company was being purchased by businessman Yakov Panchenko. All the news clarified: the same Panchenko who owns the Russian 'Stockmann'.
By the end of the first half of 2022, Lamoda's turnover in Russia had increased by 44.2%, reaching 47.3 billion rubles. Experts suggest that the online retailer's business could be worth at least €500 million. However, according to Panchenko, the actual transaction amount was about €95 million "in addition to the value of cash held in the Lamoda business."
In December of last year, the sale of Lamoda was finalized. Lamoda employs approximately 8,000 individuals, including those working at the central office in Moscow, offices in Minsk and Almaty, an automated warehouse complex in Bykovo near Moscow, and a delivery service.
Panchenko assured, "The company will continue its development without significant strategic and operational changes in activities… I have no plans to change the team – they will have every opportunity to grow in the company after the transaction. The management team will remain unchanged as well."
Almost at the same time as this news, the business press recalled the name of Eduard Panchenko in connection with a case that appeared to have concluded a long time ago. In December 2015, the Finnish department store chain Stockmann declared the sale of all its Russian stores to the Russian franchisee of the British department stores Debenhams, Debruss. The co-owner of Debruss with a 70% share was the Russian businessman Yakov Panchenko (son of academician Vladislav Panchenko, chairman of the board of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research).
This was preceded by lawsuits totaling 74.5 million rubles: several Russian designers simultaneously appealed to the heads of the fashion retailer Podium Market, the Kitsenko spouses, demanding payment for debts to clothing and accessories manufacturers. In 2017, Stockmann, which became Moscow, acquired Podium Market stock and equipment, the right to use the company's trademarks, and four of its outlets located in Moscow (European and Fashion Season shopping centers), Kazan (Pushkinsky business center), and Krasnodar (Oz Mall shopping center).
The new owners planned to renovate all the stores in “Stockmann”, but because it was not possible to do it quickly, they decided to see if the Podium Market brand itself is profitable. Part of the department stores has been preserved with the former name. A year later, Panchenko concluded: “We have decided that we will neither buy out this brand nor renew the license to use it.” Stockmann refused to develop Podium Market department stores, and the former owner of Podium Market, Eduard Kitsenko, accused Stockmann of violating the terms of the purchase of this brand from him.
In 2018, the offended Podium Market was renamed IPK Atlas and declared bankruptcy (at the end of 2021, a loss of 117 million rubles was declared). And the bankruptcy trustee went to court, conducted an examination, and the examination estimated the value of the assets sold by Stockmann at 1.7 billion rubles. Stockmann CEO Gennady Levkin describes the situation as follows: “In 2017, we received a proposal from the owner of Podium Market, Eduard Kitsenko, to consider the possibility of buying out some share of this business, since at that time Podium Market was experiencing difficulties in paying debt obligations. We considered it possible to buy retail equipment and leftover goods, rent a brand for a year with the possibility of further redemption or refusal, and paid 105 million rubles for this. Without a doubt, this deal was commercially interesting for us.
Now, an examination ordered by the court and conducted by the Roseco appraisal company (one employee, zeros in financial statements) made an incorrect assessment from Levkin’s point of view, because “it was based on some management assumptions about future income that Podium Market could earn. These incomes were absolutely fantastic, calculated with multiple gains from year to year for five years, and, of course, no one makes estimates like that. We still believe we paid an absolutely fair price.
However, recently the Moscow Arbitration Court, in the framework of the bankruptcy case of the Atlas investment and production company, invalidated the five-year-old deal to sell it to Stockmann.
As stated in the materials of the court, Stockmann must pay the company an astronomical amount of 1.69 billion rubles. At the same time, the court ruling says that the retailer, in turn, will now be able to receive this money from the heir, the bankrupt IPK Atlas. The Moscow arbitration thus returned both companies to their original state – as before the deal.
Last summer, amidst these legal battles, rumors surfaced about unpaid debts, and former employees and Podium Market partners who feel cheated declared their readiness to sue Polina Kutsenko. All of this was accompanied by the conflicts between the journalist Ksenia Sobchak and Polina Kutsenko, the wife of Eduard Kitsenko. Both ladies, who were once friends, had a dispute at the Running Hearts charity marathon. As a result of the quarrel, Sobchak hinted at financial frauds involving Kitsenko: “about the fact that in 2017 Eduard Kitsenko (your husband) came to Yakov Panchenko (Stockmann) and borrowed 100 thousand dollars from him … I wonder what crumbs the fund will receive, because the only one who benefits from any events is always only Polina herself … And do not believe the excuses “I was not involved in the leadership of the Podium” . Even as it was. Don’t give her money, don’t trust her, run, run.
What a rich and varied life people have. Now a court, then a party with smiles and scandals …
