Biography of Evgeny Chichvarkin. Evgeny Chichvarkin: biography, creativity, books, and personal life Chichvarkin instagram com

Evgeny Chichvarkin is a talented entrepreneur and simply an interesting person. In the mid-2000s, the authoritative Forbes magazine included him among the richest businessmen in Russia, and in 2008 also named him one of the most eccentric and extravagant millionaires on the planet.

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

Chichvarkin's early years, childhood and family

According to Evgeny Chichvarkin himself, he happened to be “physically born” in Leningrad, but most sources to this day often indicate Moscow as his place of birth.

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 of the largest cities in 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 civil aviation pilot, and his mother worked as an engineer-economist at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (formerly the USSR Ministry of Foreign Trade). Speaking about his origin, Eugene once also noted that his distant ancestors belonged to the Moksha people.

After graduating from high school, the 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 at the 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

The first cellular retailer store opened in Moscow on Leninsky Prospekt. Over the next few years, the network of salons began to grow rapidly. The first sales points appeared outside of Moscow. Some time later, representative offices of the company began to appear even outside of Russia. A record year in this regard was 2006, when in just twelve months 1976 (!) new salons were created.

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 of this is the company’s advertising slogan - “Euroset – 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 activities in Russia due to traveling outside the country.

Chichvarkin: “Instead of a new Russia - a rollback 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 was married to his longtime girlfriend, Antonina. The family lived in London and raised two children - son Yaroslav and daughter Martha. At the beginning of 2016, the marriage broke up.

Evgeniy 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.

Evgeny Chichvarkin is a talented entrepreneur, founder of the Euroset chain of stores. In the mid-2000s, the authoritative Forbes magazine included this man among the businessmen of Russia, and in 2008 called him one of the most eccentric and extravagant millionaires on the planet.

Childhood and youth

Evgeny Aleksandrovich Chichvarkin was born on September 10, 1974, in the city of great opportunities - Moscow. Developing the theme of family, it is worth noting that the parents of the future businessman were in no way connected with business and commerce. The father of the founder of the Euroset holding was a civil aviation pilot, and his mother worked as an engineer-economist at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (formerly the USSR Ministry of Foreign Trade).

Among other things, his parents were from two of the largest cities in Russia, and therefore the businessman often calls himself half-Leningrader, half-Muscovite. Speaking about his origin, Evgeniy once noted that his distant ancestors belonged to the Moksha people.

In his youth, Evgeniy masterfully combined school with a wild life. In conversations with media representatives, the businessman often said that he found time for parties, homework and reading books on philosophy.

After graduating from high school, the future entrepreneur entered the State Academy of Management. At this university, the ambitious young man began to study the economics of vehicle management. However, the meager student scholarship was constantly not enough, and therefore very soon Evgeniy found a part-time job at the local clothing market.

Here the guy took an inside look at the world of retail trade, understood the laws of “street economics,” and also acquired the necessary experience in working with clients. In 1996, Evgeniy entered graduate school at the State Academy and, in parallel with his studies, began to hatch plans to create his own business.

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

Business

The first Euroset store was opened on Leninsky Prospekt in Moscow. The company was exploring a completely new market for Russia, since no one had heard of cellular retail in the country before. Most people used pagers as their primary means of communication. Over the next couple of years, the Euroset chain of salons began to grow rapidly. The first sales points appeared outside of Moscow. Some time later, representative offices of the company began to appear even outside of Russia.

Evgeny Chichvarkin - head of the Euroset company

A record year in this regard was 2006, when in just twelve months 1,976 new salons were created throughout the country. In the late nineties - early two thousand, Evgeniy developed the concept of advertising promotion for his company, which was based on the use of shocking, extraordinary and deliberately provocative marketing moves.

Worth mentioning, for example, are such scandalous PR campaigns as “Take off your clothes for the phone” and “Miss Breasts”. 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 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, it is worth noting that back in 2008, Evgeny Chichvarkin actively supported all political campaigns and, however, 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 the entrepreneur. A month later, the millionaire left his post as head of the Euroset company and flew to London.

Evgeny Chichvarkin left Russia in 2008. Two years after moving to the UK, the businessman started selling wine, in particular, he opened the Hedonism Wines alcohol store in London, with a total area of ​​700 sq.m. It is known that the range of alcoholic drinks amounts to 8.5 thousand items (this list also includes exclusive brands). In June 2017, for the first time since its founding, the company made public estimates showing the store’s profit. At the end of the 2015-2016 financial year, it amounted to £352 thousand.

Personal life

Chichvarkin always carefully hid his personal life from prying eyes. It is reliably known that for a couple of years the former head of Euroset was a caring father and loving husband. The businessman's wife's name is Antonina. It was she who gave the entrepreneur two children - son Yaroslav and daughter Marta.

In March 2016, rumors appeared on the Internet that the businessman had divorced, and in August this information was confirmed. Evgeniy’s new lover was a girl named Tatyana. Together with her, the man flew to Jurmala that same year, where he introduced his companion to his star friends - and Olga Ryzhkova. It is worth noting that the businessman’s girlfriend made a pleasant impression on his friends.

Evgeny Chichvarkin now

In July 2017, the founder of the Euroset network of communication stores, in an interview with a journalist and blogger, spoke about his rivalry with, a deal with his conscience, and how he built a company on smuggling.

In August, the businessman, who left Russia for London in 2008, began raising funds to support the election campaign. The money, according to the entrepreneur, will be used to open new headquarters in the regions and print leaflets. Among other things, Evgeniy published in

Biography

Chichvarkin's father worked as a civilian pilot, and his mother worked as an engineer-economist at the USSR Ministry of Foreign Trade (later at the Ministry of Industry and Trade).

Evgeny Chichvarkin graduated from Moscow school No. 28 in 1991, and entered the State Academy of Management, from which he graduated in 1996, receiving a diploma in the specialty "Economics of Motor Transport Management".

From 1996 to 1998, Chichvarkin studied at the graduate school of this academy.

During his studies, he began to actively engage in trading in clothing markets.

In April 1997, together with a friend Timur Artemyev Chichvarkin created the Euroset company.

Chichvarkin's first store, which had only a few mobile phones in its assortment, was opened on Leninsky Prospekt in Moscow.

In subsequent years, Euroset developed rapidly, rapidly expanding the network of its salons. In 2003, the company entered the regional market.

In 2006, a record number of new retail outlets were opened - 1976.

Chichvarkin persistently emphasized the bright and extraordinary image of the company. The company's sharp, "on the verge of a foul" advertising slogans ("Euroset - prices are just... crazy!", etc.) became an important marketing tool.

The company carried out scandalous campaigns and promotions, including “Take off your clothes for the phone.” The socialite was also the advertising face of the campaign.

In October 2005, Uralsib provided Euroset with a three-month loan for $50 million at 9.5% per annum with the ability to convert it into 7.53% of the company's shares.

In March 2006, Uralsib became a minority shareholder of Euroset, but in December Uralsib exercised the option to buy back shares and left the shareholders.

It soon became clear that the main factor in the rapid growth of Euroset's business was the non-payment or understatement of customs duties when importing mobile phones into Russia.

In 2005, Euroset found itself the object of attention from law enforcement agencies. On March 29, 2006, at the exit from the territory of Sheremetyevo customs, law enforcement officers seized 167,500 mobile phones of the Motorola C115 model, intended for the Euroset company, with a total value of 530 million rubles.

On April 26, it was reported that employees of the Moscow State Unitary Enterprise Promotkhody had begun destroying these mobile phones the day before. Euroset immediately stated that these phones were brought to Russia in compliance with all legal norms. But the regulatory authorities first declared the products smuggled, and a few days later - counterfeit (counterfeit).

On August 24, the criminal case was dismissed for lack of evidence of a crime, and 117,500 telephones were returned to Euroset.

On September 2, 2008, law enforcement officers conducted a search at the central office of the Euroset company, which was related to the investigation into the kidnapping of a former Euroset freight forwarder in 2003. Andrey Vlaskin, who was caught by the company's security service stealing cell phones.

On September 22, 2008, Chichvarkin and Timur Artemyev signed an agreement to sell 100% of Euroset to the investment company ANN, headed by an entrepreneur.

On October 24, 50% minus one share of Euroset was purchased from ANN by Vympel-Communications (the sale transaction was completed on February 3, 2011).

On November 20, 2008, it became known that Chichvarkin left the post of chairman of the board of directors of Euroset.

In January 2009, the Investigative Committee under the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case against Chichvarkin. The investigation decided to bring Evgeny Chichvarkin as a defendant.

Chichvarkin was charged with Part 3 of Article 126 (kidnapping) and paragraphs “a”, “b” of Part 3 of Article 163 (extortion) of the Criminal Code.

In October 2011, Evgeny Chichvarkin was noted by the Russian version of Forbes magazine as one of the 9 most unusual Russian businessmen - madcaps, eccentrics and eccentrics.

Since March 2012, together with Timur Artemyev, Chichvarkin opened the wine business “Hedonism Drinks Ltd” in London, where the former is the owner of the company, and Chichvarkin is the main investor.

Policy

In 2008, Evgeny Chichvarkin came out in support Vladimir Putin And Dmitry Medvedev.

On November 16, 2008, Chichvarkin headed the still unregistered Moscow city branch of the Right Cause party, and was also appointed responsible for party branding.

On May 11, 2010, in his blog in the Snob project, Chichvarkin published an appeal to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in which he again accused the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs of intimidation and extorting money from him for the sale of the Euroset company in 2008, and also accused the penitentiary system of keeping prisoners in inhumane conditions.

On May 30, 2010, during the Moscow Tea Party rally, held by the Libertarian Party of Russia, a telephone direct line was organized with Chichvarkin.

On August 31, 2010, Chichvarkin took part in a rally in defense of Article 31 of the Russian Constitution in front of the Russian Embassy in London.

Rumors, scandals

On April 3, 2010, Chichvarkin’s 60-year-old mother, Lyudmila Chichvarkina, found dead at home. According to the conclusion of forensic experts, Chichvarkina fell and hit her temple on the edge of the table, but Evgeniy Chichvarkin believes that it was murder.

In January 2011, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation dropped the criminal case against Chichvarkin. However, Chichvarkin said that he was afraid to return to Russia because of the possibility of new persecution.

In April 2016, Chichvarkin announced plans to engage in positioning and branding of the Open Russia organization.

Chichvarkin has repeatedly stated that he was a supporter of the Ukrainian Euromaidan and opposed the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation. After the change of power in Ukraine in 2014, Chichvarkin turned to the President of Ukraine with a request to include him in the “team of reformers.”

In July 2015, Chichvarkin met with the Prime Minister of Ukraine.

On April 18, 2016, Evgeny Chichvarkin held a press conference in London, which was broadcast to the press center of the Moscow branch of Open Russia.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky said that he and Chichvarkin advocate the unification of all political forces in the country under the slogan of regular changes of power.

Chichvarkin said that he would position the Open Russia organization, the founder of which is Khodorkovsky. He said he would "work on the program, branding and positioning of the organization."

Chichvarkin openly called on Russians for a “color revolution”:

“There is no need to be afraid of color revolutions. The Georgian revolution was absolutely bloodless, the first Maidan brought freedom of speech and allowed the second Maidan. This is a political process, without which it is impossible for us to live.”, - said the dissident.

16 min. reading

Updated: 05/28/2019

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 points of sale are now perhaps as common as pharmacies, grocery stores or gas stations. Surely you, my dear readers, have visited mobile phone stores more than once or twice, 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 its opening, Euroset occupied almost 40% of the Russian cell phone market. 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 under certain circumstances, which we will talk about a little later.

Now we will talk about the main stages of the life and formation of a successful Russian entrepreneur, as well as the principles of Mr. Chichvarkin’s business that 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 economic engineer at the Ministry of Foreign Trade.

Since childhood, Zhenya was attracted to difficult 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 in the world, said that during 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 of the 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). In fact, this educational institution was selected only according to these criteria.

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 higher education diploma does not in any way affect their quality of life.

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 the best possible way - 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 used it everywhere - in the Euroset advertising company, in communicating 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 event... Immediately after graduating from the Academy, Evgeniy gets married and goes on a honeymoon, upon arrival from which he learns that his place in the market is taken 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, in which 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 there are not enough working capital to hire 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 left the toilet, the manager called him back with good news - he was 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 an advertising campaign on the radio, in which the emphasis will be 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 visit competitors’ stores in their free time, because if they found a lower price for a product than in Euroset, they would receive a bonus.

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 large 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, (Network of Russian Communications 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. The promoted brand, which brought in a stable income, did not allow its 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, 167,500 phones for the Euronet worth 530,000,000 rubles were seized when leaving the Sheremetyevo customs territory”
• “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 was related to the kidnapping of a former employee of Euroset, who was 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, sued the Russian Ministry of Finance for large sums of 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 of a 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 a completely 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 don’t consider this calendar to be the height 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, since 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:

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Chichvarkin has been living away from his homeland for more than nine years - he has long settled in London, where he does business and builds his personal life, in which big changes have occurred in recent years. 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 Eugene in the British capital several 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, from where, after graduating from the philological faculty of St. Petersburg State University, she 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, worked for a Russian businessman, and in 2010 she 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, which makes the process of choosing wine even more enjoyable.

While working together, Evgeniy could not resist the charm of his 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-minted 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.