Courtesy of Artemis Protection
- Mathieu Séranne said no one knew about his luxury bunkers three weeks ago — but “then the war began.”
- Since the invasion of Ukraine, Artemis Protection has received 500 quote requests and 15 orders.
- See inside the highly sought-after bunker, which can cost anywhere from $160,000 to over $500,000.
Underground shelter manufacturers are reporting a surge in customer inquiries since Russia invaded Ukraine, including Artemis Protection, a high-end bunker company based in France.
A sign for a nuclear fallout shelter outside a residential block in Brooklyn.
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The company’s founder Mathieu Séranne said he has received 500 bomb shelter inquiries over the past two weeks. According to screenshots viewed by Insider, the company has received 30 requests in the past 24 hours.
Courtesy of Artemis Protection
Prices for the company’s 236 square-foot “premium” pre-fab bunkers start at $300,000 and can go up to more than $500,000 depending on personalization and total square footage.
Courtesy of Artemis Protection
Customers are willing to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into bunkers because “our most basic instinct as human beings is survival,” Séranne told Insider.
Courtesy of Artemis Protection
The ready-to-use shelter “is as comfortable as a mountain chalet and strong enough to withstand any major event, anywhere in the world,” he said.
Courtesy of Artemis Protection
“When people around the world see a nuclear superpower acting with such cruelty and so little logic it shocks them and reminds them that peace is a fragile balance,” Séranne said, referencing the impact Russia’s invasion has had on the market.
Courtesy of Artemis Protection
85% of Artemis Protection’s clients come from France. The remaining orders have come from Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Poland — countries that are close in proximity to the Belarusian border.
Courtesy of Artemis Protection
Séranne said there has recently been strong demand from Qatar and Saudi Arabia as well.
Courtesy of Artemis Protection
Artemis Protection’s initial design goal was to “redefine the ‘image’ of the bunker, to make it warm and welcoming.” Then, as orders flooded in, Séranne decided to create a smaller model that could be produced in three weeks.
Courtesy of Artemis Protection
Below is a digital rendering of the 65-square foot “standard” bunker, priced at $162,000 and able to shelter four people during an attack.
Courtesy of Artemis Protection
“We had to completely rethink our commercial strategy because of the diversity of the requests and the socio-economic category of the prospects who contacted us,” Séranne told Insider.
Courtesy of Artemis Protection
According to traffic data viewed by Insider, the vast majority of visitors to Artemis Protection’s website come from Googling keywords such as “bunker” or “fallout shelter.”
Courtesy of Artemis Protection
“This is showing a real concern,” Séranne said. “They are looking by themselves to get a shelter.”
Courtesy of Artemis Protection
While site traffic peaked on March 11, Séranne predicts the market for bunkers will continue to grow and become more accessible as global tensions with Russia persist.
Courtesy of Artemis Protection
Read the original article on Business Insider 
