Alyona Kravchuk
"My life is permanent change of decorations"

Alyona Kravchuk is managing partner of the company "Prime Storm". She manages such complicated business processes as financial investments, development and construction. And also she is in course of all news in business and in politics, she educates three children and on the question where does she get time to do all this, she answers: "Life is long if you use it smartly".

         Hello, Alyona. In the Internet there was information that you invited to Ukraine two famous designers and the star of Hollywood. Can you tell us who came and why?

         Right now I cannot disclosure names. I can tell only that these people were invited by my privately and came to discuss the concept of our new projects, and they will participate in its implementation. The opinion of these specialists is very important for businessmen and politicians.

         Let’s talk about the other theme. People says that you can build faster than other companies. How can you do it?

         I built my first buildings 12 years ago, and not too many things have changed: all people would like to have beautiful life and nobody wants to wait, that’s why it is necessary to be in a rush. We were the first in Ukraine using the latest building technologies known in the world, to correspond expectations of the customers. But we always build with good quality.

         How can you achieve it?

         I never economize on specialists and materials. I succeeded in creating real professional team. It is easy to work with them. We also have good partners all over the world, who always are ready to offer good quality products in different segments of prices. It gives us possibility to build objects for different target audience.

         How expensive is the real estate which you build?

         Most of our objects have been designated for business-category and for middle-class. At present we sell flats for $150 000 (Kiev Region and other regions) and cottages for $350000. I can assure you that in both cases it is perfect real estate. Also we take care our clients’ health, that’s why we use only ecologically clean materials. We also take care that our clients have comfortable conditions in our cottages and houses, so we build mini kindergartens with swimming pools, children’s playgrounds, volleyball and basketball courts, and courts for scooters and catamarans.

         Is it true that each your new projects doesn’t look like the previous project?

         Yes it is true. At present we build cottages, houses and quickly assembled constructions in Kiev and in the regions. And every time it is absolutely new project. As we can say, for us it is necessary to build "the rainbow". We also do permanent monitoring of our customers opinion using specially created call-centers. It is interesting for us to know how they live in flats, houses and cottages built by us and we consider these observations in our following projects. I prefer personally to control all objects, that’s why in my jip always there are several pairs of special foot-wear and construction helmets.

         It is difficult to imagine you on the construction site.

         Anyway it is so. People cannot deceive me, when they say that they cannot work waiting while cement becomes solid. I know perfectly the whole technological process. My life is filled not only with trips to the objects, but also with short (5 minutes) meetings, working conferences, encounters, negotiations, business-trips, master-classes, etc.

         How did it happen that you decided to dedicate yourself to such man’s profession?

         Once, when we were building one of our first objects, builders violated technology. I talked to professionals and they explained me that it was necessary to destroy the building and to build the new one. That time I understood that it was necessary to do everything professionally. The best way to avoid such mistakes is: it is necessary to understand personally all details of construction business. Now I can show everybody how it is necessary to work.

         Do you help your clients with financing?

         We have special financial programs with banks-partners, that help our clients to get credits for real estate purchasing, using our discounts. We work individually with each our client. We do not have cases when the client comes and lives us after he finds out the price. Is it expensive for you? We will find for you less expensive variants. Have you bought the flat and now would like to move to the house? We will help you in solving this situation. Recently we have started using for our clients weekly photo-reports submission. Most of them are very busy people and they do not have possibility to supervise personally how construction develops. Sending photo-reports by Internet, we give them possibility to work normally and do not worry about invested money. It is very important after big scandals in construction area.

         Have your clients changed during last years?

         Of course! During last time our clients have changed and become other. The client now perfectly understands that the interior is some capital investments in prestige. He is more mature – íå counts his money, he starts feeling and understanding beauty and the most important, that he is trying to approach it. Recently we have tried to analyze what interiors are mostly ordered. The majority of people prefer to have beautiful and stylish interior. People want to live in the house, where everything was designed from the point of view not only of comfort and functionality, but also of beauty. Now people frequently ask us to attract artists on the forging, the stained-glass panels, the ceramics. We have started understanding that the real beauty makes life better and more pleasant. And specially, when the beauty is created by talented architects, designers and painters. Taking into consideration desires of our clients, we have developed and soon we will present packages of interior solutions in our show-rooms.

         What does it mean "the package of interior solutions"?

         It is very interesting. As you know it is necessary to work hard to realize the dream about beautiful and comfortable house. We assist our clients to avoid these worries. In the show-rooms, that we build on our construction sites, our clients will have possibilities not only to select the proper variant of house or flat but also to order the interior that he likes. We will attract well known designers, including famous world known designers (for example, now we begin to cooperate with Phillip Stark on one of our projects). In these mini-houses everything will be considered and decorated in details. We will be able to offer variants of interiors with different colors range. The client can come and participate in selection of furniture, curtains, lights, tappets, accessories and many other things.

         What is the cost of such designed interior?

         I can assure you that it is not so expensive, as it seems. The complete set for the 50 sq.m flat will cost from $15 thousand up to $25 thousand. It is not more complicated to get it then to buy a car. Of course I am talking now about flats for the middle class. For our VIP-clients we order exclusive variants of interiors and furniture, including catalogs of famous brands. But in all cases the order’s fulfillment will not take much time. Anyway it will not 3-4 months, as it is normal in Ukraine. Also with assistance of our banks-partners the clients will be able to use credit programs in our financial supermarkets and to order the interior hi likes in credit.

         Last time people started more actively purchasing real estate abroad. Have you assisted people in such issues?

         We consult people, explaining them pluses and minuses of different projects. In my practice we had situation when one Ukrainian businessman was going to buy hotel business on one Ireland and asked us to verify technical aspects of transaction. When we started supervising communications, we got suspicions that it was not so good situation (despite the sellers were trying to convince us opposite). Only after we hired divers, we could understand that all communications were props.

         I know that now you are working on creation very interesting TV project dedicated to construction.

         How do you know? Yes, it is really so. We work on creation the unique talk-show “The Hummer”, where we will consider the most interesting building projects from different sides. It is planned that in the talk-show there will be several interactive studios. Such format will allow us to attract to the show famous architects and designers from different countries of the world. I can tell you secretly that I was invited as the show-woman.

         Do you have time for your family with such intensive schedule?

         They are getting used to it. Of course my children, as you know I have three children, would like their mother to be always near, that’s why they agree to fly with me to any point of the world. I understand that I do not pay enough attention to them. Sometimes, thinking that I am not with them, I have desire to tear myself on parts. ÐBut what can I do? The work requires my permanent presence. By the way, recently my younger daughter (she is three years old) said that she would like to be an architect as her mother. So it is possible to say that my family completely supports me (laughing).

         What is your opinion about the luxury?

         I like that the luxury again comes back to our life. Time when we troubled it, steps back under pressure of eternal people’s desire to have fairytale excellent and comfortable life. The world survived fashion of high-tec with its cold metal. The thinned, rare, with great care fostered beauty again becomes ideal. The luxury creates special manner of life, it makes it necessary to surround yourself with expensive things, to feel beauty and to have expensive life. The luxury is beautifulá majestic and simultaneously it is generous. We were influenced for a long time, that the luxury is designated only for selected people. I think, it’s not true. Everybody has his own idea of it. The luxury, beauty and comfort have different cost. It is what we specifically demonstrate in our show-rooms îò construction sites.

         People talk about you as the person that permanently generates new ideas. Tell us please what new interesting projects you are going to present in the nearest future.

         In our plans for the nearest future we are planning to create the network of financial boutiques within 50 km zone outside the capital. The leading banks, insurance and development companies have already confirmed its participation in our project. Also we begin construction of transition logistics centers. As you know, now there is a big problem with trucks, whom it was prohibited the entrance to the city. Creation of transition centers will allow the wholesale companies to resolve with our assistance the issue of cargos’ storage near by Kiev. And of course, realization of the project, what we were talking at the beginning of our interview – big scale deliveries to the Ukrainian territory of furniture and accessories of leading manufacturers in Europe and the Latin America for our interior design show-rooms. But I will be able to tell you more about it only in couple of months.

         So we today invite you for our next interview. And in conclusion please share with us your secrets of success.

         All what we get from the life is in direct ratio with what we put in the life. See you soon!

Svetlana Goncharenko