Exclusive range and discovery of America

The year 2017 was successful for the Group of Companies in all areas. Financial indicators have grown, large investment projects have been implemented in Voronezh and Shakhty, new collections of Gracia Ceramica and UnitilePro have been highly appreciated by consumers, and their popularity is constantly growing. CEO Sergey Klykov tells what is waiting for Unitile in 2018, what tasks the management and staff are to solve.

— If 2017 can be described by the word "positive", which one, again, would you apply to the upcoming 2018?

— "Difficult."

— "That is not the best?"

— "No, this is the rare case when "difficult" has a positive meaning. An athlete who is preparing to win in the championship knows that it won't be easy. The builders, who faced the task of erecting the Crimean Bridge, realized that it was not an easy task. It is important what you are focusing on — a process during which different pitfalls may occur. Or on a result — a victory, completion of a historical facility. In our case, we are focused exclusively on victory, on further expansion and strengthening of market positions." "Is it difficult?" "Of course. But we are not afraid of challenges."

— "Are you talking of further modernization of production?"

— "About that too. There will be a lot of them. This includes the completion of modernization of the line No.10 at the Shakhty production site (production of 600x1200 porcelain tiles). And the reconstruction of the shop No.1 for the manufacture of new product for Unitile — monoporosa or single-fired tiles. We plan to start production of facing tiles of new size relating to the premium segment (300x900), to enter the medium segment of porcelain tiles of small size of 300x75, 200x200, 125x500, 100x200. I also want to note that we intend to develop an exclusive range for the largest federal DIY networks.

Modernization will affect all production sites — the brick factory, the open pit and the site for production of dry building mixtures.

But speaking of development and innovation, we are not just talking about equipment. This year we intend to use our technological base even more actively, and it is one of the best in the country, which will result in significant savings and considerable reduction of product cost without loss of quality.

— "New sizes mean new collections?" Last year the Unitile Team made competitors very nervous with its performance at Batimat.

— I think marketing will not forgive me if I unveil the secrets that are being prepared for Batimat in April in advance. I will only say that there will certainly be surprises. And there will be a lot of work that will allow our still young Gracia Сeramica brand to enter the TOP 5 brands by 2019 in terms of recognition. By the way, our partners are waiting for the launch of several unique services and loyalty programs, which will further strengthen our ties.

— "Financial indicators increase by 13% for 2016-2017. Is further growth planned?"

— "I would not like to disclose specific figures, but yes, in 2018 we plan to reach the maximum sales volume in the company's history, which significantly exceeds the aggregate indicator of 2016-2017."

— "Will there be a further increase in the share of Unitile products in the high and medium segments?"

— "Of course. As well as the entry into new markets."

— "Of far-abroad countries?"

— "Including far-abroad countries."

— "You are not going to discover America, aren't you?"

— "Everything is possible."