MOSCOW, Russia — At 42, Archie Tchernov is considered one of the pioneers of the fabrics industry in Russia and now he is turning to building whole cities using prefab construction techniques.

“Moscow is a magnet where more than 15 million people live today. There will be three times more people than now in 20 years time,” he said. “I want to be involved in building state of the art housing for this expanding population that is superior to what is being offered today.”

He’s the common denominator in several companies which specialize in the wholesaling of upholstery fabrics, decorative fabrics and furniture under the Svet Divanov, Natuzzi and Darso retail brands but these days he is looking beyond the furniture and fabric industries. He has a bigger vision. 

As a developer, he is involved with MOD, a design center here which is reeling in high end tenants like Missoni Home and Rolf Benz—one at a time and most recently, he has signed a deal to bring a full service restaurant to MOD. He always takes a piece of his deals but he is never the sole owner. He also believes in independent management of each company so that his associates are calling the shots—not him. He has built a group of young managers who are successfully guiding their companies to new heights so that Archie can turn his attention to new business opportunities which challenge his entrepreneurial abilities.  Archie Tchernov (Arben)

Beyond that, he is involved in the leasing of three Family Room centers which specialize in the sale of furniture and home furnishings to consumers usually next to a large supermarket.  More of these shopping center locations are planned where Archie will participate in the construction and ownership as opposed to being a leasee. He is looking for investors in these one million square foot centers and eventual partners who will put in a half billion dollars in his planned communities.

He is talking to an Italian company which makes prefab building components. His dream is to build new towns using the workers in the prefab housing factory to build their own homes.

He is also thinking about opening Home Depot type stores for building materials and he is also helping investors produce turnkey apartments in Moscow, including the decoration which is always a complicated process.