Nikolo Bregazde, the founder of the handmade accessories brand "Nikolo Brega," expressed deep concerns about the future of his business, stating that if the current trend continues, the company is likely to go bankrupt. In an interview with BM.GE, Bregadze explained that prices have risen across practically all sectors in the country, including raw materials, advertising, and other areas. As a result, the operating costs of the Georgian brand have increased by about 25%, which has directly impacted consumer behavior.
"People simply don’t have enough financial resources to purchase our products, even though they like what we offer. If this continues, we’ll have to lay off employees. We’ll start off like this, but what will happen next, I don’t know. The situation is very difficult right now," Bregadze said.
Despite rising costs, the company does not plan to increase the prices of most of its products, as the current prices are already unaffordable for customers. The only exception is silver products, the prices of which have gone up significantly due to the sharp increase in raw material costs.
Bregadze explained that the price of silver has tripled over the last few months and has increased fourfold since the company started working in this sector. "If silver used to cost around 2.5 GEL per gram, now it has risen to 11.5 GEL. As a result, we had to increase the prices of silver products by approximately 30%, but this doesn’t mean we’re making more profit. On the contrary, our margins have decreased," he added.
Advertising costs have also surged. "If previously $500 was enough to achieve specific results, now the same results require about $2,500, and sometimes we don’t even get the desired outcome with that amount," Bregadze noted.
He is not optimistic about a short-term improvement in the situation. "Our situation will not improve—it’s impossible. These people simply don’t have enough financial resources to buy our products, even though they like them," he concluded.
