![]() While the situation is recovering now, nobody has recovered to 100 per cent sales, or back to where they were before the war.”īalzhyk says because itis.cafe has maintained relationships with its suppliers, the business has been able to negotiate costs and find ways to decrease them. “Most of the players in the industry have faced around 50 to 60 per cent drops in sales since February. At the moment, we’re sitting at about 10 to 12 per cent, which is still pretty good and shows that we’re able to manage our costs as well,” he says. Before the war, itis.cafe’s Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) was roughly 21 to 22 per cent. “Ultimately, we’re still profitable, even though our sales have dropped by about 35 per cent across the whole chain. Balzhyk says itis.cafe’s turnover is in a stable place thanks to the café chain continuing to operate, but unfortunately others in the market haven’t been so lucky. ![]() We have crisis management plans in place to deal with various crises,” he says.Īccording to Balzhyk, the most devastating blow to Ukrainian businesses as a result of the war, has been a massive decrease in sales. “While we’re facing issues because of the war, we were well prepared to deal with these issues. Because of the war, that market potential is now completely out the window, and we need to re-evaluate our expansion strategy in Ukraine,” says Balzhyk.īalzhyk says itis.cafe has faced many challenges across its lifetime, including a messy currency devaluation and financial economic crisis, which in some ways has helped the business build resilience to survive the current conflict. We originally valued the market of Ukraine at around 50 stores. “We currently operate across 13 cafés in Kyiv and the city where we’re originally from, Odessa. itis.cafe operate across 13 cafés in Kyiv and Odessa. Itis.cafe still in operates in Ukraine’s capital, persevering despite the Russian army’s attempts to besiege the city. ![]() “When effected civilians would walk into one of our stores and get a cup of coffee, they’d see our staff being positive as normal, and it would remind them what normal life is. We had a strong position in the Ukrainian market, working with brands such as Slayer, Victoria Arduino and Nuova Simonelli so we could have the best machinery in our stores” he says. Before the war, we roasted around 250 to 260 tonnes of coffee every month, now we roast 160 to 180 tonnes per month. “We have an IMF roasting machine that roasts 250 kilograms per batch. With a 2500 square metre facility and 192 employees, Gemini Espresso boasts a huge production line that has been put under pressure as a result of the war. We worked in Lviv for two-and-a-half to three months, but it became hard to travel as the Russian army destroyed all petrol warehouses, so we returned our production to Kyiv and have been working there for a month or so.”Īccording to Mianovskyi, Gemini Espresso is one of the largest and fasted-growing roasting companies in Ukraine. We also brought about 40 of our employees with us, provided housing and work for them. “We had 23 trucks that could carry 20 tonnes each, which we used to move our equipment to Lviv.
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