Vladimir Melnikov is the founder of Gloria Jeans. Since November 1, 2018 he has been the CEO of Sharen Jester Turney. He is actively involved in charitable activities, is a religious person.
Vladimir Vladimirovich Melnikov is a famous Russian businessman. Owner and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gloria Jeans. Born March 10, 948 in Belarus. In October 2011, he was noted by Forbes magazine as the most unusual businessman.
Biography
Vladimir Melnikov was a teenager when his parents died. At the age of 12 he left school, and at the age of 15 he already got a job at the Rostselmash plant. In his free time, he read a lot. The passion for books has survived to this day. While working at the enterprise, the young man noted: the further the point of sale is from the factory, the more expensive the final product is.
The makings of an entrepreneur already at this age began to actively manifest themselves. A boy could buy a bag of fish from fishermen for a liter bottle of vodka (its average price was 2.5 rubles) and sell a kilogram of fish for 15 rubles. On particularly successful days, a young man earned an income of about 150 rubles a day.
A little later, he began to earn his living by reselling scarce goods and illegal sale of currency. For such actions, in those difficult times for the whole country, they were imprisoned. Vladimir Melnikov could not avoid punishment either. In 1969, he was sent to a general regime prison for the first time for five years.
In total, he was arrested three times. In total, he served 10 years, which did not prevent him from creating a "jeans empire". In prison, the young man had severe frostbite on his feet, for this reason he almost always wears woolen socks and does not tie his shoes.
Vladimir Melnikov has a son. When he was two years old, a poster was hung over the cradle with the inscription: "Take care of honor from your youth." When the son learned to read, he began to dislike this expression. He constantly tried to rip it off the wall. Once, when the son had already become big, Vladimir Melnikov read the correspondence of his child in one of the blogs. It asked what is most important for a young man. He replied: "To preserve honor from a young age." The phrase helped to form the right choice and start making the right decisions. Today, his son, having been educated in the United States, is the head of a charitable foundation. V. Melnikov also has a daughter who devoted her life to raising children.
Gloria Jeans opening
In the first half of the 80s of the last century, Vladimir bought a sewing machine. He did not plan to work on it independently, so he became the organizer of an underground workshop in the basement of one of the Rostov schools. They were engaged in sewing denim pants. For a fashionable effect, the fabric was rubbed with a stone. Very quickly, clothes became popular, and Melnikov's income began to grow actively.
The time has come in the country when it became necessary to take one's business out of the shadows. In 1988, the Gloria sewing cooperative appeared. A year later, the idea came to upgrade the equipment to a more modern, imported one. To do this, Vladimir Vladimirovich went himself for new machines. For an attempt to withdraw dollars, he was again arrested. During these years, his wife Lyudmila Leonidovna Melnikova was engaged in business.
The businessman himself cried in the courtroom, because he did not understand why he was being tried. In his opinion, capitalism is the most correct regime, as it allows you to significantly increase income.
Business development in the 90s of the last century:
- 1991 the first partner store of the company was opened;
- 1994 the factory in Bataysk was acquired;
- 1995 the factory in Novoshakhtinsk was bought;
- 1996 Representative offices were opened in the largest Russian megalopolises.
In the first ten years, the company has become one of the largest manufacturers of clothing and children for teens.
According to Rosstat (1999), Gloria Jeans has become the absolute leader in children's clothing in the country. In the same year, 4.3 million items were put on sale.
The company has repeatedly become the winner of various competitions:
- Brand of the Year;
- "Leader of the Russian Economy";
- "People's Brand";
- "Most bought brand".
In December 2012, due to a serious illness, Melnikov's wife died. She was ill for 1, 5 years. At this time, the entrepreneur retired, devoted himself to caring for his wife. Nothing is currently known about the businessman's personal life.
Features of the worldview
Melnikov always hires foreigners for top-managers' positions. He spares no money on them. He believes that there are no good specialists in our country. To find out world trends in the fashion world, a businessman 4-6 times a year travels around the world, renting a plane. The company's designers work in many countries of Asia, America and Europe. They study markets, expand their assortment.
In Melnikov's office there is a complete collection of the Life of Remarkable People series. Its visitors are invited to choose a book with any creativity. Based on the choice made, a psychological portrait of the visitor is drawn up.
Melnikov tries to avoid contact with government agencies. He is a deeply religious person. Communicates with the elders, tries to listen to their advice. Has his own spiritual mentor. To be closer to him, he built a house near the Optina Pustyn monastery in the Kaluga region.
Vladimir Melnikov is actively involved in charity work. Helps the poor, single mothers, homeless people. In one of the interviews he was asked: "If you had only one million dollars, where would the money be invested?" Vladimir Vladimirovich replied that he would go to wander the country, handing out money to the poor.
