SO14 Enterprises

Moscow Eastern European Foods began trading in December 2004 and has steadily built into a successful local retail business, based on St Mary Street Southampton, just opposite Southampton City College.

Tatyana and Vladimir Okhotnikov set up the business with the help of their daughter Irina who approached West Itchen Community Trust and their SO14 Enterprise service for guidance in the initial stages of business planning.  Following a number of meetings and an action plan being agreed with the Business Coach, the business proposition began to take shape.  Shortly after these meetings, the ideal location was identified, a lease was agreed and trading started very quickly.

Moscow Eastern European Foods now has a very loyal customer base that is growing rapidly and Vladimir and his son regularly visit Germany and London to replenish supplies according to customer demand.

Irina commented “Rick was very helpful in a number of areas that I was unsure of, he gave me the confidence to develop my own business idea, that will hopefully start trading in the very near future.”

She continued “I would recommend that anyone from this area who is looking to start their own business, should contact Rick and seek some initial advice.  The SO14 Enterprise Project seems to have strong support in the local community and some very useful contacts.”