Editor’s Note: Ukraine’s businesses are struggling after the country introduced nationwide restrictions on movement and travel starting on March 12. The restrictions have been intensified since then and are set to last until at least April 24. Most businesses are closed with employees working remotely or not working at all. The exceptions include supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, parcel delivery services. The borders are closed to most forms of traffic, except Ukrainians returning by foot or by car. Most domestic transportation is closed or heavily restricted. Estimates range on how deeply the ensuing recession will harm Ukraine. The Kyiv Post talked with entrepreneurs about their daily struggles, asking how the quarantine has affected their ventures and what they are planning to do once it’s lifted.
We want to hear your personal story of survival during this national lockdown. Please contact us at [email protected]
Tatiana Chevrolet
general director of Global Distribution Ukraine, an 80-person company that represents the French cosmetic brands Caudalie and l’Occitane in Ukraine
“On the one hand, we were lucky, so to speak, because the quarantine began one week after March 8 (International Women’s Day), which is a key period for cosmetics and the source of the biggest revenues of the year along with New Year’s Eve. The general trend at the beginning of 2020 before (the quarantine) was growth by up to 16% in Ukraine compared to the previous year.
“On the other hand, we lost 80% of our activity, with the shutdown of shops and shopping malls that usually distribute our products. The most difficult decisions were to stop our activities and to organize our digital team. Our revenues coming from the online platform have doubled since the beginning of the quarantine, from 7% to 14%, and we were lucky enough to have an efficient ‘offline’ platform already in place for delivering.
“As a cosmetics producer, l’Occitane is also developing a range of products such as sanitizers to help fight the spread of the coronavirus. They are going to be accessible at the beginning of May and we hope to have a quota of them for Ukraine.
“Since the beginning of the coronavirus’ spread in China, our company has taken steps to upgrade the security of our employees and our clients. What makes me keep going, despite the difficulties, is the team. Our team is great, extremely efficient, and the people are really supportive of each other.
“I’m certain the online platform will save us. The company will still exist, but yes, there are risks of people leaving. It is still unclear how we will manage to keep the team in May. We still pay salaries, but we don’t know what will happen in April.
“Still, Ukraine is a country defined by its changes. We went through the EuroMaidan Revolution, our shop was burned two or three times, so I guess we are immune to crisis situations. We are used to it, and there is an ability in Ukraine to stay cool-headed in bad situations, to think about people first.
“We don’t receive anything from the Ukrainian government, but I understand that the state doesn’t have a solution for everyone. We are a Ukrainian unit, so we don’t have anything we can ask the French government for, but we’re in contact with the French Embassy and the French Chamber of Commerce, for advice and informational support. To the business community, I would say that we can only find solutions by communicating and sharing out-of-the-box solutions such as online cosmetologists, for example. This crisis is a chance for us and the planet not to fall into a deeper crisis in the future.”
CORONAVIRUS IN UKRAINE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- As of April 13: 93 people have died from COVID-19 in Ukraine; 97 people have recovered.
- As of April 11, 6 Ukrainians have died from the novel coronavirus abroad; 19 recovered. 172 are currently undergoing treatment abroad.
- 3,102 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ukraine as of early April 13. The first case was identified on March 3.
- Ukraine has extended its quarantine measures until April 24.
- Infographic of quarantine measures in place until April 24.
- The measures shuttered most everything but hospitals, supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, gas stations, and other critical enterprises.
- How the Ukrainian government has been responding: TIMELINE
- Misinformation on coronavirus is going viral in Ukraine.
- Foreign Ministry: What you need to know about traveling to and from Ukraine now
- Why the Kyiv Post isn’t making its coverage free in the times of COVID-19.
- Coronavirus stops the Kyiv Post’s print edition for now.
- Where to buy masks.
Effects on the economy:
- COVID-19 is already inflicting harm on Ukraine’s economy.
- Invisible Threat Lurks Undetected: Top stories from March 27, 2020 PDF edition.
- The former minister of economy says half a million Ukrainians may lose their jobs in the COVID-19 crisis.
