Evgeny Chichvarkin history. Evgeny Chichvarkin: biography, creativity, books, and personal life. Thus, Euroset has turned into a real chain of stores

How many times a day do you talk on your mobile phone? A couple of times, dozens? It's hard to imagine that just recently we managed without mobile phones. To talk outside the home, one had to make do with telephone booths sparsely scattered around the city, and for long-distance calls, call centers.

In our age of highly developed technologies and fast pace of life, you simply cannot do without a mobile phone. Their sales points are now perhaps as common as pharmacies, grocery stores or gas stations. Surely you, my dear readers, have visited salons more than once or twice mobile communications, either to buy a new phone, or even just for company.

Today we will talk about Russian entrepreneur Evgeny Chichvarkin, co-founder of the legendary Euroset network of cellular communication stores. I want to say that this is one of the Russian entrepreneurs I most respect, who made himself from scratch on his own, without anyone’s support, unlike the overwhelming majority of today’s oligarchs.

I think this name is familiar to you, because Euroset retail outlets have conquered the market not only in Russia, but also in the post-Soviet space in countries such as Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Currently, this company includes about 5,000 communication stores, but once upon a time it all began with a single store in Moscow on Leninsky Prospekt. Just imagine - 5000 communication shops!!!

5 years after its opening, Euroset became a leader in the retail sales market of mobile phones and accessories with a turnover of $140 million. Less than 10 years after the opening, Euroset took almost 40% Russian market cell phones. 2006 was a record year for the company in terms of the number of new retail outlets opened - the network expanded by another 1,976 stores.

Under Chichvarkin's leadership, the company has grown into Russia's largest mobile phone retailer.

Euroset offers to buy not only cell phones, but also order and pay for air tickets, tour packages, or pay for satellite TV, credits and traffic police fines. Thanks to the Euroset brand, Mr. Chichvarkin became fabulously rich. His net worth currently amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Currently, Mr. Chichvarkin lives in the UK, and is called the former co-owner of Euroset. He acquired the prefix “ex” and a new place of residence when certain circumstances, which we will talk about a little later.

Now we will talk about the main stages of life and becoming successful. Russian entrepreneur, as well as about the business principles of Mr. Chichvarkin, which guided him on his way to millions.

The future businessman was born or, according to Chichvarkin, “physically born” in 1974 in the city on the Neva. Some sources indicate the capital as his place of birth; this confusion arose because Evgeniy was officially registered in Moscow.

One way or another, Chichvarkin can safely declare to himself: “I was born in the Soviet Union, I was made in the USSR.” His father worked as a civilian pilot, and his mother worked as an engineer-economist at the Ministry foreign trade.

Since childhood, Zhenya was attracted to complex tasks, he preferred not to stand in line at the skating rink, but to climb over the fence, both literally and figuratively. Chichvarkin began to engage in commerce while still in school, and spent the proceeds mainly on musical recordings.

By the way, have you noticed that many financially successful people began to show interest in money from childhood?

I believe that this interest must be cultivated and encouraged in every possible way in children, introducing them to the financial world. , owner of more than 220 companies, one of the most successful entrepreneurs Mira said that in his childhood we often talked about business at family dinners.

Let's return to Chichvarkin. Despite his good academic performance - and Evgeniy received almost only "A" grades - he was not accepted into the Komsomol because of his "uncontrollability."

The times of perestroika, during which Chichvarkin grew up, cannot be called simple. We had to rebuild our thinking “on the fly,” because those who were unable to show flexibility, quick reaction and adaptation to circumstances simply remained out of work during this “hungry” time.

Therefore, let’s note a useful recipe from Chichvarkin No. 1: “Maintain an active life position and show flexibility of thinking”

From 1990 to 1994, Chichvarkin went through a school of survival in trade. As a young man, he plunged headlong into the period of the collapse of the USSR and the formation of a new market economy future Russian Federation.

He gained his first entrepreneurial experience in high school, buying Cosmos cigarettes for 70 kopecks and reselling them to his classmates for a ruble. Then there were gramophone records and nail polish.

The pitiful pennies received from resale in this way did not impress the young entrepreneur and he began to look for more profitable schemes for making money. So he began reselling things through consignment stores. For example, he purchased a tracksuit for 50 rubles in one store and resold it to another for 400 rubles.

Immediately after school, Evgeniy entered the State Academy of Management, where his mother and father studied (he took courses there). Essentially this educational institution was selected based on these criteria only.

It is difficult at the age of 16-17 to consciously choose a university, or rather a profession, because HOW can you choose something that you do not know or something that you have never encountered. In this regard, Evgeniy’s choice is no different from the choice of millions of people throughout our country, for many of whom having a diploma higher education does not affect the quality of life in any way.

student life

The student life of Evgeny Chichvarkin is associated primarily with the clothing market in Luzhniki.

According to the future owner of Euroset “Earning money then became so easy that you didn’t have to do anything.”

One day he met his former classmate, who was selling oversized men's underpants at the market on Stoleshnikov Lane. Someone else would most likely have ridiculed his classmate, but Chichvarkin decided to follow the example of his friend.

And here it goes...

Evgeniy took on everything that could be bought cheaply and then resold elsewhere. These were razor blades, Snickers chocolate bars, glamorous fur clips from the Sophist of Twist, jeans, tracksuits, woolen tights, boots.

Perhaps it would be easier to list what the enterprising guy did not trade. Even behind the counter of the clothing market in Luzhniki, Chichvarkin showed ingenuity - people bought from him even more expensive, because Zhenya presented the goods in at its best– ironed, while his competitors’ goods were wrinkled.

He even wore women's dresses to attract attention to the product. Even then, realizing the full power of shocking, Chichvarkin further applied it everywhere - in advertising company Euroset, in communication with staff, journalists and business partners.

What did a typical day for student Zhenya Chichvarkin look like, or rather, how did it differ from the typical day of other students?

An ordinary student, as a rule, woke up around 11-12 and barely made it to the last hour. Then he lazed around until the evening, after which he dragged himself to some party, where he drank at someone else’s expense, since he had “squandered” his scholarship long ago.

Student Evgeny Chichvarkin got up at 5 am to take the first train to Luzhniki with bales. There, within an hour, he sold all his goods and ran to the institute, being 15 minutes late for the first couple of minutes. In the evening, he served drinks to his student friends whose scholarships had long expired.

Even then, Che, as Chichvarkin was later called, became famous in the market for the fact that he could sell any product, even the most difficult to sell.

This continued until 1994. That year, Chichvarkin stopped trading in Luzhniki due to the fact that the owners there had changed and they had increased the fees for trading places.

And then, in 1994, Chichvarkin opened a video cassette rental shop opposite the institute canteen. True, it did not last long, only a month and a half. It had to be closed due to low temperatures.

After this, Zhenya returns to trading again, only now he does it with someone else’s hands. He begins to involve fellow students in trading relations. The scheme was simple. He found goods at a low price in one place and sold them through his classmates at a higher price.

At that time, spontaneous markets opened en masse not only throughout Moscow, but throughout Russia. And anyone who experienced a shortage of funds could earn extra money in such markets. My parents also worked this way in the 90s.

My father worked as a bus driver. In the morning he drove the watch to work, and in the evening he took the watch back. As a result, the middle of the day was empty. My parents used the bus as a point of sale. My mother traveled to Moscow and Poland to buy goods, and during the day she sold them on my father’s bus, which he parked next to one of these spontaneous markets in our city and in neighboring towns.

So, Chichvarkin found people who were not averse to earning extra money. They bought goods from him and went to trade them in one of these spontaneous markets. Fortunately, over several years, Zhenya had accumulated a lot of contacts with shuttle operators who transported goods, mainly from Turkey.

“How lazy people are - they can’t travel two stops on the metro to buy a blouse for a dollar cheaper,” Chichvarkin is still surprised.

At the same time, our hero was “not up to the task” of trading in the market himself. Soon he returned to Luzha again, as Evgeniy calls Luzhniki, where he was invited by a “group of speculators” to sell the goods they had brought from abroad.

How Evgeny Chivarkin became involved in mobile phones

It is unknown how long the hero of today’s article would have had to trade in Luzhniki if not for one of the events... Immediately after graduating from the Academy, Evgeniy marries and leaves for Honeymoon, upon arrival from which he learns that his place in the market is occupied by other people.

At this moment, when it seemed that Evgeniy was left without a livelihood with his young wife, his childhood friend Timur Artemyev invites him to work for him. At that time, Timur, together with another partner, opened a mobile phone store. Things were going neither shaky nor slow. Then Timur invited Evgeny Chichvarkin to use his talent as a seller in his store.

Having nothing else to do, Evgeniy went to work for Timur for the summer, with the goal of earning a little money so that in the fall he would return to trading at the market again.

As you understand, he never returned to the market.

It so happened that Timur Artemyev did not see eye to eye with his partner, with whom they opened the Medicom store, where Chichvarkin worked as a salesman.

But the views of Artemyev and Chivarkin completely coincided. As a result, the friends decided to open a new company in which they would be partners. So, on April 2, 1997, Euroset appeared. Timur took over all financial affairs, and Evgeniy took over sales.

The first store was opened...But not so. First, friends opened an office at the very beginning of Tverskaya Street. This office served as a point of sale. People came there based on newspaper advertisements. Yes, yes...I specifically want to draw your attention to this. Chichvarkin and his comrades did not disdain anything.

When many beginners think about starting a business, they immediately imagine a spacious store or boutique with good repairs, tall glass display cases, comfortable furniture, etc.

But as the history of the founders of Euroset shows, before you can build a chain of stores with a total number of more than 5,000 stores, start small. Find a product, rent an inexpensive office and start selling at least through newspapers or free classifieds sites, such as Avito.

Only after this, Evgeniy and his partner Timur opened the first retail point of sale in the Elektronika store on Leninsky Prospekt. A month later they opened a third point of sale in Lubyanka.

Thus, Euroset has turned into a real chain of stores!

They existed in this composition until August 1998...And then the crisis began.

It was a dark time for many entrepreneurs. Thousands of businessmen went bankrupt at that time. However Chichvarkin not only survived, but also managed to open 2 more retail outlets by the end of 1998.

In 1999, Euroset stopped chasing the opening of new points and focused on improving those that already existed. In fact, there was nothing to open new points. The 1998 crisis took its toll, and the company was barely making ends meet.

Therefore, throughout the entire ninety-ninth year, Chichvarkin and his comrades increased their capital. It should be noted that the proposal “do not open new points” came from Timur Artemyev, who was in charge of finance. I say this to mean that one head is good, but two are better.

Everyone is accustomed to linking the success of Euroset with Evgeny Chichvarkin. But achieving success alone is almost impossible. Therefore, if we consider building a business from the point of view of success, then you need to be prepared to hire good professionals, and if there is no money for a professional, then take him as a partner.

I made this conclusion from my own experience. I am currently developing my online store and I see that without a team it will never grow. At the same time, my store is still young and working capital not enough to take yet good specialists.

Let's return to Chichvarkin. In general, 1999 was quite a successful year for the mobile phone market. As they say, “There would be no happiness, but misfortune would help.” The fact is that before the crisis of 98, mobile phones were available mainly only to wealthy people. More precisely, not mobile phones, but cellular communication services.

With the onset of the crisis, cellular tariffs skyrocketed due to the fact that all tariffs were in dollars. Naturally, mobile operators began to suffer losses and this forced them to urgently change their pricing policy.

As a result, two months after the onset of the crisis, MTS and VimpelCom reduced tariffs by half, and from January 1, 1999, made incoming calls from mobile phones within the network free!

During 1999, the main players in the cellular communications market reduced the cost of their tariffs several more times and in the second half of 1999 they eventually introduced per-second billing.

What did this lead to? To the boom of new connections from mobile operators and to the rush for mobile phones

At the end of 1999, Evgeniy went abroad for the first time. But he does not do this for the purpose of relaxation. He travels to Taiwan to find direct suppliers of telephone accessories.

And here I want tell about an interesting incident, which perfectly characterizes our hero. The fact is that he purchased accessories for mobile phones in Russia from one of the wholesalers.

One day, while sitting in the office of one of these wholesalers, Evgenia had the urge to go to the toilet. While in the toilet, he saw empty boxes of accessories that were apparently going to be thrown away. The boxes contained the supplier's details and various other transport marks, which made it possible not only to contact the supplier in China, but also to track the entire delivery route of the package.

Without getting up from the toilet, Che called one of his managers to dictate the details of the Chinese supplier. Before Chichvarkin had time to leave the toilet, the manager called him back good news– he is waiting for a fax with a price list from the supplier.

Very little time had passed since that incident in the toilet when Evgeniy was sitting in the seat of an airplane that was supposed to take him to a telecommunications exhibition in Taiwan, where he was going to negotiate direct deliveries of various products for his stores.

What do I want to draw your attention to here? The entrepreneur's attention to detail. Perhaps someone else would consider digging through boxes lying in the toilet as something low, dirty and humiliating. But not Evgeniy. It seems to me that Chichvarkin would not be ashamed to climb into these boxes, even if they were, pardon the expression, all in crap.

2000 – a turning point

Perhaps the year 2000 can be called a turning point in the development of the Euroset and, of course, in the life of our hero - Evgeny Chichvarkin!

Its subsequent development and success were fraught with difficulties. More precisely, as a result of overcoming these difficulties, he was able to conquer new heights for himself and take his company to a new level.

As I wrote above, 1999-2000 became a turning point for both the cellular communications market and the retail market for mobile phones. On this wave, Euroset began to have many competitors. And in 2000, Chichvarkin decided to start a price war.

He decided to reduce the markup on phones and accessories sold from 20% to 5%. His partner Timur Artemyev was categorically against this step, as he believed that with such a markup the company would not be able to become profitable. But he had to come to terms with this, since sales were Chichvarkin’s responsibility, not his.

Evgeniy’s calculation was simple: by reducing markup, win on prices and thereby increase the number of sales.

In the same year 2000, Euroset took part in the Expocom exhibition for the first time. In parallel with this, the partners decide to launch advertising campaign on the radio, in which the emphasis is on the new pricing policy.

And here the worst thing happens!

Why did I write above in quotation marks the phrase “the worst thing is happening”? Yes, because everyone who surrounded Chichvarkin’s eyes and ears popped up after what they heard. Everyone thought he was crazy. Radio stations refused to accept advertisements containing profanity. Not everything is true. there were those who aired this advertisement. And with those who didn’t put it, they decided to replace the letter U in the word oh...no with the standard “piiiiiii.”

But Chichvarkin was firm in his decision. He really wanted to stand out and draw attention to his company. And this was one of the turning points, because it was from this moment that Evgeny Chichvarkin and Euroset began to regularly shock the public with their shocking antics.

“The craving was not real. We put the pedal to the metal. And away we go."

During 2000, the number of Euroset stores increased from 11 to 27. Sales soared that Euroset became the market leader, which many competitors naturally did not like.

Competitors began to use any methods to reduce the ardor of presumptuous young entrepreneurs. In 2001 alone, the company’s warehouse on Tverskaya was closed 15 times with the help of the police, firefighters and other methods of the authorities.

Chichvarkin regularly received threats on his mobile phone, which prompted him to hire a bodyguard. But he did not give up his intentions. Moreover, he decided to strike back and “kill” his competitors. Naturally, not literally, but figuratively.

Here again I want to emphasize the difficulties and character of our hero. Anyone else in his place would have been scared long ago and sat without rocking the boat. But difficulties forced Zhenya to look for ways to overcome them; his brain constantly worked and found new solutions.

He found a legal way to drown his competitors, who sent him policemen and firefighters. Chichvarkin opened several sales points next to his competitors who were interfering with him and lowered prices so much that all buyers left their competitors and went to Euroset to buy phones.

Moreover, prices were sometimes reduced even at a loss. Typically, competitors in such a game merged within a few months. Soon such tactics became a trademark of Euroset.

Chichvarkin killed his competitors at a price!

During 2002, Euroset, led by Chichvarkin, managed to sign a dealer agreement with Samsung and Motorola. Thanks to these contracts, phones from Euroset showrooms of these brands began to be supplied directly, and not through intermediaries represented by other dealers.

Then, in 2002, a new player appeared on the mobile phone retail market - “Svyaznoy”, which over the next three years became the main competitor of Euroset.

In 2002, Chichvarkin decides to spread his networks outside of Moscow and goes to St. Petersburg. To open his stores in this city, he had to face a lot of problems. In order to prevent the metropolitan network from entering St. Petersburg, ten major players in the local market are joining forces.

However, even here Che finds a way out. He agrees with the city administration that he will sponsor the restoration of the stations, for which he will have the opportunity to open exclusive sales points in them.

And since the stations are located in the city center, Euroset immediately received the most accessible places in the city.

Well, another significant event of 2002 that I cannot miss is the April Fools' campaign of Euroset. The first such event took place in 2002, and later became an annual tradition.

That year, Chichvarkin decided to turn Tverskaya Street, where their central office and store was located, into a Red Light Street like in Amsterdam. To do this, Evgeniy hired models and displayed them in the store windows. The models were not completely naked, but in swimsuits. However, this was enough to make passing men cringe their necks, looking at the beauties. Euroset turned into Eroset for one day.

The next year, Chichvarkin decided to continue the experiment with undressing. True, this time he decided to undress Euroset visitors. And this is what came out of it:

Euroset's April Fool's campaign offered a phone as a gift to anyone who stripped naked during the company's anthem.

This prank of the co-founder of Euroset brought back memories of the British billionaire, an eccentric who, while advertising his mobile company Virgin Mobile for half an hour in the center of London, “would wear whatever his mother gave birth to”, waving a cell phone.

Well, it’s better to “undress the buyer than to put his shoes on.” Chichvarkin is strict with this – the interests of the client come first. At Euroset, he introduced a rule for replenishing mobile phone accounts in an amount of 1 ruble or more.

In the event of various complaints from the buyer, the manager urged the staff “not to bully”, but to quickly exchange the faulty product. Chichvarkin encouraged store managers to free time visit competitors' showrooms, because if a lower price for a product is found than in Euroset, a bonus is awarded.

Andresskod by Euroset

Another trick of the outrageous businessman, timed to coincide with the first of April, was remembered by all fashionistas and fashionistas. As part of Russian Fashion Week, he staged his own anti-glamor show, which ended in a real scandal.

“Models” took to the catwalk wearing bright yellow T-shirts with obscene inscriptions and big bags. The bags contained beer, which the “models” began to pour on the guests of the show.

As a result, this provocative show ended in a fight, during which Chichvarkin, represented at this event by the designer, received several blows to the face from one of the disgruntled visitors, who was doused with beer.

In 2003, the number of Euroset stores doubled, from 186 to 328. True, this almost cost the life of Euroset. The fact is that opening new branches requires money, which was taken mainly from sales in the capital region.

At that time, Chichvarkin and Euroset had Svyaznoy, led by Maxim Nogotkov, firmly on their tail. Euroset's profits in Moscow and St. Petersburg were falling, which made it more difficult for the company to pay off loans taken from banks for development and purchase products for sale.

And branches in the regions were unprofitable. All experts unanimously agreed that the Euroset does not have long to live. At this moment, Chichvarkin declares a state of emergency in the company under the slogan: “Everything for the front, everything for victory.”

Evgeniy personally traveled to those regions where things were going especially badly and restored order there. As a result, Euroset managed to overcome the black streak and began to rapidly break away from its competitors.

2004 – the number of outlets tripled compared to the previous year to 1117, the company’s turnover amounted to $970 million. In the same year, Chichvarkin sent out a colored letter to his employees for the first time, which the employees subsequently began posting on the Internet and they became a popular online joke.

But I’m telling you this more in order to once again emphasize Evgeniy’s originality, his unconventional, bold and provocative approach to doing business, which is undoubtedly one of the most important driving forces.

Chichvarkin's approach to personnel management requires separate words. Evgeniy is very fond of Ayn Rand’s book “Atlas Shrugged,” which he considers the real Bible of entrepreneurship. So in Euroset this work could be read during the working day.

2005 – 3111 salons of which 257 are outside Russia. The company's turnover amounted to $2.6 billion. Such rapid growth, more than 2.5 times compared to the previous year, was due to the fact that Euroset began buying up smaller competing companies that were also represented on the market by networks.

Chichvarkin acquires such companies as “Bastion”, (“Chain of Russian communication stores”), “Techmarket”, “Ultra”, “Mobile World”, etc.

The year 2005 was also remembered for the mobile phone market for the first large customs confiscations, which led to a crisis and an increase in the price of phones.

Thus, 10 trucks containing smuggled mobile phones totaling more than $10 million were detained. Several planes carrying contraband were also detained at Sheremetyevo airport.

All this caused a crisis in the market, as the companies that imported phones decided to lie low and stopped sending new products to Russia. As a result, Chichvarkin and other players on the market simply had nothing to buy.

Phones have skyrocketed in price from 10% to 40%. Euroset, as the largest market player, had the worst time of all. However, this time too, the problem ultimately made the company even stronger, since Evgeniy and his companions decided not to purchase any more phones on the domestic market, but to buy them abroad and import them themselves.

Beginning of the End

With growing profits and influence, Euroset began to attract attention. A well-promoted brand that brought stable income, did not allow his creator Chichvarkin to live the quiet sweet life of a bourgeois.

I will present the following facts without comment, so to speak, on a telegraph line:

• “On March 29, 2006, at the exit from the territory of Sheremetyevo customs, 167,500 phones for the Euronetwork worth 530,000,000 rubles were seized”
• “Aug 24, 2006, the case was closed due to the lack of evidence of a crime, period, some phones were destroyed, period, Euroset, 117,500 phones were returned, period.”
• “September 2, 2008, the central office of the Euroset was searched dot”
• “September 22, 2008 Chichvarkin Artemyev signed an agreement for the sale of Euroset point”
• “November 20, 2008 Chichvarkin left the post of Chairman of the Board of Directors of CPK”
• “December 22, 2008 Chichvarkin flew to London dot”
• “Jan 2009 a criminal case was opened against Chichvarkin period”
• “On March 12, 2009, an international search was announced for Chichvarkin, period.”
• “Jan 2011 the criminal case was closed period”

Chichvarkin was charged with kidnapping and extortion under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of Russia. The case involved a kidnapping former employee Euroset, caught by the Euroset security service in stealing goods.

The disgraced businessman himself, according to the Kommersant newspaper, claimed that his criminal prosecution in Russia could be related to attempts to force him to sell the company.

In 2011, by decrees of the Russian President, two police generals, whom Chichvarkin called the organizers of his persecution, were dismissed. Top managers of Euroset, who were wrongfully detained, were sued by the Russian Ministry of Finance large sums compensation.

So is it a happy ending?

During a video bridge organized by RIA Novosti, Chichvarkin admitted that he would gladly return to Russia, because “this is my homeland,” but he fears new persecution. “I can return if a new elite comes through direct elections and makes a beautiful, free and strong country, that is never,” he concluded.

However, Mr. Chichvarkin is not bored in Foggy Albion. While living in England, he improved his knowledge foreign language, began to communicate more with children and even learned to play polo.

In addition, Chichvarkin decided to try his hand at the UK market in the wine business. In March 2012, together with the same Timur Artemyev, he opened the Hedonism drinks company. Artemyev is the owner of the company, and Chichvarkin is the main investor.

As for Euroset, having changed a number of owners and managers, the company still remains quite profitable business. The previous image “from Chichvarkin” was replaced by a new one - in December 2010, Ivan Okhlobystin, a famous director, screenwriter and actor, became the creative director of the company.

In March 2011, the company began rebranding: the yellow terrier became the new symbol of the chain, preserving the signature canary style of Euroset stores.

Also in 2011, Forbes magazine noted Chichvarkin’s efforts, calling him one of the most unusual Russian businessmen.

Euroset owes its success largely to the charisma of its corporate ideologist. The image of the eccentric Chichvarkin spread to the entire strategy of Euroset, which also worked to attract buyers.

For example, in 2006, the Siberian branch of the Euroset company released a gift calendar with photographs of its top managers in nude style.

I would like to note the non-standard approach to doing business both by Evgeniy himself and his employees. I do not think this calendar the pinnacle of marketing thought. Moreover, other companies, such as Pirelli, have been practicing this for a long time.

But it’s still better than doing nothing at all, sitting and waiting for buyers to come to you. This is exactly how many entrepreneurs do business. When I go to shopping centers, it sometimes amuses me to look at the sad faces of bored sellers, whom buyers only visit on weekends.

His gold mobile phone Vertu (note, the word is without quotation marks, because the cell phone was really made of precious metal) coupled with jeans and red sneakers - here is the usual replicated image of the extravagant Eugene.

No, this is not kitsch, but a means of self-promotion, because Chichvarkin admits that he will put on a tailcoat immediately if the business elite suddenly changes suits to worn jeans!

Stand out, stand out and stand out again! This is what the Great Che bequeaths to us.

In conclusion of this article, I would like to give you a few quotes and statements from Mr. Chichvarkin, which will further help you understand how to conduct business and become a successful entrepreneur:

But what is so remarkable about this smiling “half-Leningrader, half-Muscovite”? Understand the intricacies life path founder of the Euroset chain of stores, we will try today.

Chichvarkin's early years, childhood and family

The reason for this confusion is that the parents of our today's hero moved him to Moscow immediately after birth. In this city he was registered with the competent authorities; Here he lived, in fact, most of his life. The parents of the future entrepreneur were from two largest cities Russia, and therefore Evgeny Chichvarkin often called himself “half Leningrader, half Muscovite.”

Developing the theme of family, we note that the parents of the future businessman were in no way connected with business and commerce. The father of our today's hero was a pilot civil aviation, and my mother worked as an engineer-economist at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (formerly the Ministry of Foreign Trade of the USSR). Speaking about his origin, Eugene once also noted that his distant ancestors belonged to the Moksha people.

After graduation high school, future entrepreneur entered the State Academy of Management. At this university he began to study “Economics of Management of Motor Transport.” However, the meager student scholarship was constantly not enough, and therefore very soon Evgeniy began working part-time as a salesman at a clothing market. Here he was able to take an inside look at the world of retail trade, understand the laws of the “street economy,” and also gain the necessary experience.

In 1996, our today's hero entered graduate school State Academy, and in parallel with his studies, he began to hatch plans to create his own business.

In April 1997, our today's hero, together with his friend Timur Artemyev, created a company called Euroset, which subsequently began to grow rapidly and develop rapidly.

The growth of personal wealth and the subsequent scandal of the owner of Euroset

In the late nineties and early two thousand, Evgeny Chichvarkin developed the concept of advertising promotion for his company, which was based on the use of shocking, extraordinary and deliberately provocative marketing moves. A striking example This is reflected in the company’s advertising slogan – “Euroset – the prices are just... crazy!”. In addition, the scandalous PR campaigns “Take off your clothes for the phone”, “Miss Breasts” and some others also deserve mention. This approach attracted enormous attention to the Euroset company and laid the necessary basis for all subsequent successes.

The network of cellular communication stores was growing rapidly, but it was at this moment that serious scandals began to flare up around Evgeny Chichvarkin’s business. It all started with accusations of understating customs duties when importing phones into Russia. In addition, the Euroset company found itself at the center of proceedings related to the disappearance of its former forwarder Andrei Vlaskin, who had previously been convicted of stealing mobile phones. In 2009, Chichvarkin was charged under the article “Kidnapping”.

Going back a little, we note that back in 2008, Evgeny Chichvarkin actively supported all the political campaigns of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, but a couple of years later he radically changed his political views. The reason for this was pressure from the official authorities, who insisted on the sale of the Euroset company and allegedly extorted money from the entrepreneur.

One way or another, in September 2008, the profitable business of selling mobile phones was finally sold. Chichvarkin agreed to the proposed conditions and transferred the full stake to the ANN investment group and entrepreneur Alexander Mamut. A month later, our today's hero left the post of head of the Euroset company, and already in December of the same year he flew to London.

During this period, Evgeny Chichvarkin was still in the status of head of the branch of the Right Cause party, but subsequently he actually interrupted his political activity in Russia due to travel outside the country.

Chichvarkin: “Instead new Russia- throwback to the Middle Ages"

While in London, Chichvarkin made accusations against the Russian government, noting that after his arrest, his longtime associate Boris Levin was diagnosed with hepatitis C. In addition, Evgeny questioned the accidental death of his mother, who was found dead in her Moscow apartment in April 2010.

Personal life of Evgeny Chichvarkin

Evgeny Chichvarkin uncensored

Currently, the entrepreneur owns a profitable business selling wines in Europe. According to Evgeny Chichvarkin, his return to Russia is possible only with a change in the current regime.

Chichvarkin Evgeniy Aleksandrovich is a famous Russian businessman, former co-owner of Euroset. In 2011, Forbes magazine included him in the ranking of the most unusual entrepreneurs - eccentrics, eccentrics and extravaganzas.

Childhood and studies

Evgeny Chichvarkin, whose biography is described in this article, was born in Moscow in 1974. The boy's father worked first in civil aviation and then in passenger aviation (total experience - 40 years). Mom worked at the Ministry of Trade as an economist-engineer.

In 1991-1996, the young man traded in clothing markets. At the same time, he received his education at the Academy of Management, specializing in motor transport. In 1996, Evgeniy graduated from high school and entered graduate school, studying there for another two years. Chichvarkin did not defend his dissertation. In one of his interviews, he said that he didn’t even come up with a topic.

"Euroset"

In 1997, Evgeny Chichvarkin, together with his friend Timur Artemyev, opened the Euroset company. The idea of ​​opening a mobile phone salon belonged to Timur. Evgeniy himself simply loved to sell, and the type of product did not matter to him. Subsequently, the media wrote about Artemyev and Chichvarkin as co-owners of Euroset. But information about the size of the share of each of them was not disclosed anywhere.

Extension

From the very beginning, Euroset focused on retail sales. Every year the company gradually expanded. In 1999, large-scale advertising began. But the company’s truly rapid growth occurred after the implementation new strategy development. The basis was the reduction in cell phone prices. By 2002, the number of retail outlets increased to 11. Evgeny Chichvarkin opened more than 100 salons. Every year their number constantly grew. So in 2003, 117 stores opened, in 2004 there were already more than 800.

From 2001 to 2004, Euroset entered into contracts with vendors and officially became a partner of such brands as Pantek, Sagem, Philips, Sony Ericsson, Siemens, Samsung, Motorola and "LG." By working directly with manufacturers and obtaining the most favorable terms during negotiations, the company continues to promote a low-price strategy.

In 2003, Evgeny Chichvarkin became seriously involved in the development of regions. This led to an increase economic indicators and business growth in Russian cities. The national retailer in the regional market ensured not only the growth of the base of mobile operators and interest in cellular communications, but also contributed to the emergence of real competition, increased professionalism of other retail chains and the creation of jobs.

A new round of activity

At the beginning of 2004, Euroset launched DECT phones, MP3 players and cameras. In October it was issued in the amount of 1 billion rubles. In the same year, branches of the company appeared in Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The company's thousandth anniversary salon was opened in Grozny on December 7, 2004.

The main activities of Euroset are: retail trade in cellular and personal audio, digital cameras and accessories. The company also connected to telecom operators and provided information services. The number of employees of the company reached 30 thousand. About 45 million people visited Euroset salons every month. In February 2004, Evgeny Chichvarkin received the Person of the Year award in the Retail Business Director category. Since 2005, Euroset began to cooperate with Nokia.

Scandal

Also in 2005, the company acquired the Voronezh Chain of Salons and Techmarket. This allowed Euroset to become the largest retail company in its segment. It was then that a scandal occurred involving a batch of smuggled phones detained at customs. Interested in Euroset law enforcement agencies. Evgeny Chichvarkin told the media that in this way they are trying to “crush” his company, and all accusations of smuggling are a complete lie. In August 2006, law enforcement agencies closed the case for lack of evidence of a crime.

New plans

In 2006, the number of stores reached 3150. And a year later, this figure increased to 5156. Communication shops were represented in 12 countries: Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, Estonia, Russia, Moldova, Ukraine. Naturally, the company's immediate plans included an IPO. Chichvarkin also planned to open a hypermarket.

In 2007, many media outlets reported on Euroset’s intention to acquire its own bank and enter the corresponding market. In order to stand out among competitors, Chichvarkin even came up with the name “Ebank”. Most journalists noted Evgeniy's originality.

Searches

In March 2007, Chichvarkin’s name was often mentioned in the press in connection with the arrest of Dmitry Sidorov, who headed the Iled M company. He was suspected of tax evasion, and on a large scale. In 2004-2005, Iled M supplied mobile phones and accessories to Euroset. Just during that period, Chichvarkin was a co-founder of the company, and then unexpectedly left it.

In August of the same year, employees of the Investigative Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs conducted searches in the apartments of Euroset employees. Meanwhile, information in the media was ambiguous. Some wrote that the searches were related to a 2005 smuggling case. Others stated that Chichvarkin was involved in Iled M. A version of a marketing ploy was also not excluded when, after the searches, the company announced the suspension of supplies of cell phones to its stores, thereby stimulating demand for the products.

Nevertheless, most experts adhered to the version that the searches were the security forces’ response to Yevgeny’s actions. After all, Chichvarkin was in confrontation with the structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They came to this conclusion after analyzing information from the Kommersant newspaper, which published an article about searches at Euroset. Also, back in March 2006, Directorate “K” of the Ministry of Internal Affairs confiscated a batch of Motorola phones from the company. Euroset filed a lawsuit for illegal seizure and won. Part of the shipment was returned, and the other was destroyed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs “under the guise of harmful goods.”

Sale of the company

In 2008, Vedomosti published information about negotiations between MTS and Euroset regarding the sale of the latter. At the same time, the publication provided information on the distribution of shares in the company. Artemyev and Chichvarkin owned 50% of the shares. Vedomosti also asked the co-owners of Euroset to comment on the information about the likely sale. Both said this was not true.

In December 2008, Chichvarkin sold Euroset to VimpelCom (Beeline) and Alexander Mamut in a ratio of 49.9 and 50.1%, respectively. Taking into account the debt ($850 million), the transaction cost was $1.25 billion, and without taking into account it was about $400 million.

Criminal case

After the sale of the company, Evgeny Chichvarkin and his wife Antonina left Russia for London. And already in January 2009, a case was opened against the businessman, arresting him in absentia. In March, Evgeniy was put on the international wanted list. Thanks to the competent work of his lawyers, Chichvarkin managed to stop the criminal prosecution. In 2011 investigative committee The Russian Federation closed his case and stopped the international search. Evgeny Chichvarkin and his wife still live in London and have no plans to return.

Personal life

Many media consider his image to be quite unusual for a serious businessman. In one of his interviews, Evgeniy said that people often mistake him for an idiot. On the one hand, the entrepreneur was offended, but there were situations when it was even convenient. In 2007, a publication was published, in the writing of which Evgeny Chichvarkin took part. The book was called "If you are sent 99 times out of 100." The genre of the publication is “success story”. In it, the businessman described in detail his biography and the history of the formation of Euroset. Critics said that the figure of Eugene in the book “turned out to be not very sympathetic, so the degree of reliability of what is presented is quite high.”

Despite great fortune($3 billion), the businessman does not consider himself rich. Money for him is just an opportunity. The entrepreneur is married and very happily married. Evgenia Chichvarkin's wife is a housewife. Together with her husband, she is raising two children: daughter Marta and son Yaroslav.

The name of Evgeny Chichvarkin is forever associated with the Euroset chain of stores, of which he was the founder and owner for many years.

Evgeny Chichvarkin did not adhere to any of the successful business models. He decided to act independently, changing tactics and strategy as he moved forward. This required a certain courage and arrogance, freedom and determination. Resourcefulness and creativity also helped; it was thanks to these qualities that Chichvarkin was able to create his company from scratch and get rich in a short time.

Childhood and adolescence

Evgeniy was born on September 10, 1974 in Moscow. True, some sources claim that this joyful event took place in Leningrad, and immediately after his birth his parents moved to the capital. Zhenya’s father served in civil aviation, and his mother held the position of engineer-economist at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

In childhood and adolescence, Zhenya found time for everything, including school, meeting with friends, and working part-time. He studied well at school, but he always lacked money, and the boy decided to sell cigarettes. He himself did not smoke, but he bought cigarettes in nearby stores for his older comrades and sold them at a premium.

After receiving his certificate, Evgeniy did not follow in his father’s footsteps; his mother’s profession seemed more interesting to him. In the same year, he became a student at the State Academy of Management, where his specialty was motor transport economics. You can’t spend a lot of money on a student scholarship, so the student constantly found part-time jobs. This is how he got into the clothing market, which became the beginning of his work biography.

It was this place that became his first lesson in running a retail trade, he became closely acquainted with the street economy and learned how to get along with customers. Evgeniy often managed to sell obviously low-quality goods to uncomplicated buyers; he used all his charm to do this. However, Evgeniy did not take this business seriously; it was necessary for the start. And also in order to have the means to attend youth parties, give gifts to girls and buy smart books. It was then that he began to seriously read books on economics and philosophy, which prompted him to think that for a real flight he needed a completely different scope and a different sphere of application of his abilities, and not the resale of goods of dubious quality.

Evgeniy received his university diploma in 1996, and immediately became a graduate student at his native academy. After studying there for two years, he never defended his dissertation, because at that time he had already begun to think about his own business, and he was not up to a scientific degree.

In the spring of 1997, Evgeniy and his friend Timur Artemyev created the Euroset company, the development of which went much faster than its creators expected.

Career

Start successful career The businessman became Leninsky Prospekt, it was there that the first salon of the Euroset company was located. This was a completely new direction in domestic business, because cell phones Back then they hardly used it. At that time, the “coolest” means of communication was considered to be a pager. A few years later, the company’s network of stores began to grow rapidly - stores appeared not only in the capital, but also far beyond its borders. A little more time passed and Euroset representative offices flooded the international market. They significantly expanded their range, and now in the salon it was possible to purchase not only a mobile phone, but also a player and digital camera.

The record holder in this regard can be considered 2006, it was then that the country earned almost two thousand just open stores. Chichvarkin began to persistently promote his company to a large market, and he came up with all the advertising moves himself. It was extraordinary, shocking and sometimes even provocative, but this did not stop the businessman.

However, along with the stunning success, the company began serious problems and showdowns. Chichvarkin was accused of underestimating customs duties when importing their products into Russia.

In addition, the company’s forwarder Andrei Vlaskin, who had previously stolen from Euroset, disappeared. Cell phones. The company's management was charged with his disappearance; in particular, Evgeniy was accused of kidnapping.

In 2008, Chichvarkin supported the policies of Putin and Medvedev, and two years later he radically changed his attitude towards the current government.

The reason was simple to the point of banality. They began to put pressure on Chichvarkin official authorities with a demand to sell Euroset, and also extorted money from him. In the fall of 2008, Evgeniy gave up and sold his established and successful business.

The new owner of the full stake was businessman Alexander Mamut and the ANN investment group. In October 2008, Evgeny Chichvarkin resigned as head of Euroset and moved to London.

Two years after this, Evgeniy started in the UK new business- sale of wine. To do this, he opened a large store in its capital, located on an area of ​​seven hundred square meters, and offered visitors a huge range of products. Now it consists of 8,500 items, and the list also includes exclusive options. In the summer of 2017 open access information has appeared about the profit of this store, which shows that over the previous two years its owner earned 352 thousand euros.

Personal life

Evgeny Chichvarkin does not like to advertise what does not concern him professional activity. Therefore, the personal life of a businessman has always been kept under seven seals. Eugene's first wife was a woman named Antonina. In this marriage, a son, Yaroslav, was born in 1998, and a daughter, Marta, in 2006.

In the spring of 2016, rumors spread about their divorce, which were confirmed in August of the same year. Changes in the life of a businessman began in 2010, when he met Tatyana Fokina. She is originally from St. Petersburg and has a philological education. Chichvarkin invited her to the position of manager in his London wine store. This marriage is not registered; in 2015, the couple became parents to their daughter Alice.

All of Evgeny’s friends speak very warmly of Chichvarkin’s new darling and consider her a worthy match for their extravagant husband.

Evgeny Chichvarkin today

In the summer of 2017, Evgeniy agreed to an interview with journalist Yuri Dudem, in which he told how he tried to compete with Oleg Tinkov, how he made his millions by selling contraband, turning a blind eye to conscience and honesty.

A month after this, Evgeny began raising funds to support Alexei Navalny in the elections. Cash necessary so that new headquarters can be opened in different regions Russia and publish propaganda products. In addition, Chichvarkin contacted via Facebook and asked her to withdraw her candidacy for the presidential elections in 2018.

In the fall of the same year, 2018, Chichvarkin answered questions from Alexander Donskoy, in particular about the fact that he does not belong to sexual minorities and about his attitude towards Putin.

About how he lives now successful businessman, can be recognized not only by his publications on the social network. His name is often found in media publications and on the Internet.

Income

According to the London edition of The Sunday Times, Chichvarkin is ranked 905th richest person in the UK. His fortune is estimated at 120 million euros.

For more than nine years, Chichvarkin has been living away from his homeland - he has long settled in London, where he does business and builds his personal life, in which last years happened big changes. Evgeny Chichvarkin’s first wife Antonina, who in the past shared with him not only joyful holidays, but also bitter everyday life, some time ago acquired the status of “ex”.

Together with her and two children - son Yaroslav and daughter Marta, the businessman moved to London in 2016, and he did this not of his own free will, but in order to avoid punishment for extortion and kidnapping, which the Russian authorities accused him of.

In the photo - Evgeny Chichvarkin with his first wife and son

Chichvarkin married Antonina in his youth, and their family was always considered strong - Evgeniy was never seen having affairs or flirting with other women.

Evgeniy and Antonina

After the charges against him were dropped, the businessman still did not return to Russia, and not so long ago he divorced his first wife and married a second time - to Tatyana Fokina, the director of his wine store, opened by Evgeniy in the UK capital a few years ago.

In the photo - Chichvarkin and his second wife Tatyana Fokina

Chichvarkin’s second wife is significantly younger than her chosen one and his first wife; she comes from St. Petersburg, where, after graduating from the Faculty of Philology of St. Petersburg State University moved to London. She not only manages the affairs of her husband’s store, but also manages the Open University project, created by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, in which she managed to work even before moving to London.

Before meeting Chichvarkin, Tatyana Fokina spent some time interning at a PR agency, working for one Russian businessman, and in 2010 I met Evgeniy, who was looking for a partner to create a store, which did not exist at that time.

In the photo - Taptyana Fokina

The businessman admitted that before he came up with the idea of ​​​​creating a wine store, he wanted to open a bathhouse whose clients would be his compatriots, but he doubted that this business would be profitable.

According to Evgeny Chichvarkin’s wife, she was at first surprised by the concept of Evgeny’s store - huge bottles of very expensive wines were displayed on its shelves, including twenty-seven-liter Rioja worth fourteen thousand dollars.

Chichvarkin says that Tatyana did a lot for his company, and at first he paid attention to Fokina precisely because of her professional qualities. Tatyana says that she has always been close to the topics of art, food, and wine, so she created a store in which customers see not only a variety of wines, but also elements of modern art. In addition, there is always good music playing there, which makes the process of choosing wine even more enjoyable.

During collaboration Evgeny could not resist his charm future wife, fell in love with her and proposed marriage. The businessman's friends are delighted with his young wife and speak of her as a sweet, intelligent girl.

So far, the newly-made Chichvarkin family is not planning to have children and continues to successfully develop their business - in 2017, Chichvarkin took 905th place in the ranking of the thousand richest residents of Great Britain, and his fortune was estimated at one hundred and twenty million pounds sterling per year.

Tatyana and her husband spend most of their working time in the office located above their liquor store, and before work they have time to play tennis. Their working day is full of negotiations, meetings, communication with clients, work with suppliers and company employees.

In his free time, Evgeniy and his wife attend cultural events, meet with friends, and like to go to the theater or exhibition.