Centro Logo

Centro grew out of the Russian footwear business founded by Anatoly Gurevich and Dmitry Svetlov in 1992. At first, the company worked in wholesale shoe supply, but in 1996 it moved into retail under the TsentrObuv brand. Its stores used a low-cost format, with shoes displayed in boxes on pallets in the sales area, allowing customers to choose pairs on their own.

By 2000, TsentrObuv had more than 50 stores in Moscow, and in 2004, it opened its 100th location. Advertising campaigns began in 2001, and by 2008, the chain had about 300 stores. That same year, the company tested a youth-focused fast-fashion shoe format in Saint Petersburg. In 2009, the new chain received its own name, Centro, targeting customers aged 17 to 30.

Expansion accelerated after Sergey Lomakin and Artem Khachatryan, founders of Kopeyka, invested $35 million for a one-third stake. In 2009, Centro opened 50 stores in 28 Russian cities, followed by a similar number the next year. By the end of 2011, the group had 598 TsentrObuv stores and 148 Centro stores, with annual revenue of 30 billion rubles. It later entered Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Ukraine, while Kari and Zenden increased pressure in the shoe market.

In 2012, the group reached 1,168 stores, later growing to about 1,300-1,500 locations. Shareholders valued the company at $1.5 billion and planned an IPO, but the listing was canceled. In 2015, the company stopped paying landlords and suppliers, while loan debt reached 25 billion rubles. In 2016, Gazprombank accused TsentrObuv of misusing 8 billion rubles in credit funds. Centro’s operator was declared bankrupt in March 2017, and so was its parent company, Trading House TsentrObuv.