Saint-Petersburg GTH, the Leader in Imports from Russia and other Eastern European Countries, Opens Its New Store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue
New York, NY (PRWEB) July 10, 2013 -- Taking a stroll up the Manhattan’s iconic Fifth Avenue, one is showered with a never-ending plethora of glittering places of retail grandeur, shimmering in the tenderness of the July sun and gleaming with pomposity from their own self-amazement. Zegna and Prada, Rolex and Armani, Versace and Gucci, Saks and Goodman – they are all here, all on one street, pulsating to the beat of the world, the world that traveled incalculable distances to, even if for just a brief, frail moment, be able to bask in their aura. These companies, along with others like them, make the Fifth Avenue the place to be for Manhattan’s deftly extravagant shopping scene. It seems that just like the strictly-serious and eternally unchanging Doric columns of one famous temple, dedicated to the no less famous goddess of wisdom, the list of Fifth Avenue inhabitants would also stay rigidly permanent through the fluidly-placid flow of the passing millennia. However, it just so happens that this July is set to witness a brand new member joining these companies’ ranks, one that as yet, may not have the global recognition of some of these multinational giants, but one that is awesomely-inventive, defiantly-audacious, and certainly and corruptively cool-to-the-core. This newcomer is Saint-Petersburg Global Trade House!
Saint-Petersburg GTH, a Brooklyn company, specializes in products from Russia and other Eastern European countries, and has been in business for 19 years, capturing a sizable market share in an industry of small companies and utter interdependence. Starting out as a small Russian language book, music, and movie supplier to the immigrants from the former Soviet Union, the company gradually evolved into a major player among the importers and sellers of Russian-made goods in the United States through its brick-and-mortar stores, as well as their online retail establishments. While it still offers Russian books, CDs, and DVDs, it is the company’s Home Goods and Gifts departments that are growing steadily.
This is certainly reflected in the company’s new Fifth Avenue store, where the real art connoisseurs of Manhattan can spend half-a-day just browsing the extensive collection of imperial and soviet posters, many of which are regarded as truly important and trend-setting avant-garde art pieces of the early 20th century. And for those who prefer items that are a little more useful around the house, the new store offers a remarkably large selection of handmade Russian porcelain dinnerware, from the time-honored, absolutely authentic, and world famous folk porcelain sets from Gzhel, Verbilki, and Dulyovo, to the strictly-noble Imperial Porcelain, once reserved exclusively for the Imperial Court of Russia. All these are handsomely accompanied by the genuine mega bestsellers of Russian merchandise, matryoshka nesting dolls and lacquer art papier-mâché boxes. The stunningly extensive list of nesting dolls even includes extremely rare and huge sets that will do justice to even the most sophisticated collections out there, while the Fedoskino, Palekh, and other origin lacquer boxes stand to make anyone’s eyes open to the absolute maximum over the soul-pinching beauty and wonderful selection being offered. Finally, the store’s all-star product lineup will not be complete without the wonderfully made scarves and shawls from Russia. In fact, there are two world-renowned and appreciated types/brands of scarves in Russia and Saint-Petersburg GTH offers them both: one type consists of the completely natural goat down Orenburg shawls and scarves, famous for their lighter-than-air gossamer-like design, which are so exquisitely thin that each can be pulled through a wedding ring (which is a very popular type of demonstration for these products); the second type is made up of wool and silk, scarves and shawls from Pavlovo Posad, considered by many to be among the most beautiful, brightly-colored shawls in the world! Needless to say, all these are but tiny droplets in the vast sea of fun, fascinating, and really cool merchandise offered.
So what has been the secret for the company’s success? The answer is not very difficult to find. Come to think of it, it is a definite no-brainer, really: take the largest economy in the world and bring unique, really high quality, exciting, and useful products, and you will do ok… Maybe, even better, than just ok… In the words of Natalia Orlova, Saint-Petersburg GTH’s president, “We’re not just bringing everything we can get a hold of in Russia into the United States – we’ll let other companies do this, if they want. What really sets us apart from our competitors is that our merchandisers continuously analyze both markets and find great products that often put a new spin on similar products being offered here. What’s more, we stand behind every product we sell and guarantee its authenticity – for example, take Imperial Porcelain, the very well-known company in the United States [also called Lomonosov Porcelain Factory (auth. note)], whose products are being sold throughout the country, many of which are Chinese counterfeits. We have been able to get a contract with Imperial Porcelain Factory to be their exclusive distributors in North America!” And the list of such companies and products keeps growing every day.
Looking at the extensive product mix offered by Saint-Petersburg GTH, two things quickly become obvious: first of all, the list of products being offered is truly impressive and second, the prices charged are lower than could be expected of 100% genuine, imported merchandise. Here is how Saint-Petersburg’s manager, Mikhail Kholodov, explains it: “There really is no magical secret to this – it’s just pure Economics. Our company is highly vertically integrated, so that pretty much the only thing we DON’T do, is produce the items we sell. True, this business model is complicated because it involves so many little nuances that need to be constantly monitored and taken care of, but done correctly, this brings us great dividends. Because we are able to go to producers and buy products directly from them, we can pick the exact style, quality, and quantity that we want. From there, since we import and sell everything by ourselves, eliminating several possible middlemen and, what is more important, eliminating their possible profits, we start racking up savings, versus the otherwise inevitable price hikes. And a value-added that stems from this process is the fact that we are able to ensure that everything that arrives is of the highest possible quality. All-in-all, we feel that our competitive and comparative advantage, relative to our potential competitors is actually threefold – we are most efficient at dealing with manufacturers in Russia, while quickly and safely importing products, and finding the right buyers, both wholesale and retail, for everything we bring in. Actually, we do also have an absolute advantage among those, too. We’re just better!”
At the end of the day, doing business is not solely about making money – Saint-Petersburg leaves that prerogative to other companies. Doing business is about following your passion and making money, while having the greatest time of your life. Without this, all the praise and boisterous dithyrambs about the company’s great business sense and creatively chosen and offered for sale merchandise mean very little. Absolutely everyone working for Saint-Petersburg GTH loves what he or she does, be it the sales associate in the Home Goods Department, or the Russian literature specialist in the Book Department. And when everyone has fun on their job, the company prospers. This is why Saint-Petersburg GTH has been able to win the hearts of so many people – people who, having once made a purchase, become the company’s lifelong friends and customers. Now, it is the turn for the people of Manhattan to join this seemingly endless list of Saint-Petersburg’s friends-for-life. Everyone at the company knows it will be so because that is the grandest goal of them all… that is the goal worth living for.
New store location:
261 5th Avenue btw (28th &29th)
New York NY, 10016
1-212-433-2999
About Saint Petersburg Global Trade House
Founded in 1994, Saint Petersburg Global Trade House takes its roots in Brooklyn, NY – the heart of NYC’s Russian community. Saint Petersburg GTH takes great pride in the fact that it is the largest seller of Russian gifts, books, music, and movies outside Russia. The company offers products through its free colorful printed catalog, as well as operating brick-and-mortar stores in Brooklyn. The catalog is published quarterly in editions of 50,000 copies and can be requested by calling the toll-free number at 1-800-531-1037.
For additional information, visit
http://www.fromrussia.com
Max Bolotov, Saint-Petersburg Global Trade House, http://www.fromrussia.com/, 855-777-5437 820, [email protected]
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