2022 has become a turning point for many Russian manufacturers. On the one hand, hostile countries began to use openly discriminatory practices in relation to Russian products, on the other hand, trade with Asian, African and Latin American countries increased, and a unique situation developed in the domestic market. New opportunities and paths to success were discussed at the Made in Russia conference in Komsomolskaya Pravda.
CHINESE BOOM
Alexey Murzenok, Director of International Partner Programs at the Russian Export Center, opened the discussion. As one of the main trends this year, he highlighted an incredible boom in all-Russian shopping in China.
– We are very clear, because we have a national store in the leading Chinese market. And the Chinese consumer did not buy a particular cookie or ice cream, not because he knew it well. But because he was from Russia. This is another proof that a country brand can be a very effective marketing tool, – said Alexey Murzenok.
The REC representative said that in order to receive the Made in Russia mark, entrepreneurs must undergo voluntary certification. A corresponding mark for products is issued to those companies that already have various types of certificates, for example, in Roskachestvo.
CLEAN TECHNOLOGIES
Russian companies today enter foreign markets not only in the consumer segment. Irina Kosykh, Marketing Director of NPO Ecosystem (production of treatment facilities for industrial and municipal enterprises) said that in addition to a large plant in Solnechnogorsk, the company has a representative office in Dubai.
– We discovered the Persian Gulf market as a possible direction of export, because there is a shortage of drinking water, – noted Irina Kosykh. – Wastewater treatment is necessary, because they reuse water, it is an expensive resource for them.
On the domestic market, “NPO Ecosystem” in the outgoing year confirmed the status of the market leader in the water treatment segment.
– Part of the team, no plant in Russia, except us, can do more. We have recently been tested for self-cleaning filters, which were made only in Europe. We have successfully passed the tests. And we can proudly say that we are the only ones who make these filters in Russia,” said Irina Kosykh.
WINDOW TO EUROPE
During the discussion, it turned out that not in all cases the Russian manufacturer lost the European market. Thus, the director of the representative office of NPO Bronya (production of special paint and varnish coatings) Rinat Yumakaev said that in 2022 the export of products of this company to Europe has increased dramatically. This is especially true for thermal insulation coatings.
“Our partners in Europe, within the framework of the state energy saving programs, which is currently operating in Europe, are bringing our products to Europe in large batches, containers,” he said.
Supply logistics were difficult at first, but over time new chains were built. And the main recipe for success was friendly and human relations with partners, – noted Rinat Yumakaev.
Arsen Khachatryan, BAU project sales manager (bolted foundations), also spoke about the growth of exports to Europe. The company is also increasing supplies to Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
– The fact that we have prepared industry-specific solutions for most designs helps us increase our turnover in the Russian Federation and the CIS. For example, when road builders or builders contact us, we already have industry-specific solutions for installing traffic signals, traffic lights, lighting poles, cantilevers, noise barriers, etc. This reduces the decision-making time for our partner. And if there is a need for a complex project, on an individual approach, then with a minimum amount of incoming information, due to the fact that we have our own design department, we can bring any project to a high-quality result, – said Arsen. Khachatryan.
RECOGNIZE MY FACE
Russian IT solutions are still in demand around the world. According to the founder of RecFaces (biometric software based on facial recognition) Sergey Levin, the geography of export transactions includes countries such as Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Australia, Chile, Peru.
– This year we had to change our export strategy, find new partners in each region, convey information about our products in a new way and gain trust again, – said Sergey Levin. – Today, Russian partners are better treated in Latin America and Asia. Africa is also loyal to Russian developers, but still quite poor countries that are not yet ready to buy expensive technological products. We have been exporting since 2018, but in the current situation, it became necessary to quickly test many hypotheses, which was possible with the support of the Russian Export Center and the International Economic Center. Thanks to the fact that we offer ready-to-use solutions for facial recognition, its popularity is constantly growing.
The ratio of exports and sales in the domestic market at RecFaces is now 20 to 80 in favor of the Russian consumer. However, the company intends to increase the sales quota abroad and has already opened an office in Dubai, where several employees have been sent to develop the company.
CREATIVE WINS
New and interesting challenges are now facing the service sector and the creative industries. Fashion designer Nina Ruchkina, who created the Russians in Fashion brand (souvenir scarves), talked about how she conquered the corporate and regional markets in Russia. Today, Yekaterinburg (“Malachite Box” and “Stone Flower”), Crimea (“Pearl of Crimea”), Tyumen Region (“Humpbacked Horse”) and other regions of the country have marked scarves as “Russians to the fashion”. The list of corporate clients is even longer. The next task is to enter foreign markets, said Nina Ruchkina.
– We are ready to create alternative brands and popularize them in the same way. Maybe not “fashionable Russians”, but “fashionable Asians” or something related to the authentic component of this particular region. We have production in China, so we can export to the whole world without any problem, – said the fashion designer.
The founder of the Jewelery Bar jewelry brand, Natalya Bobrova, also intends to expand into international markets.
– We went on a trade mission to Saudi Arabia, this is our first country, – said the businesswoman. – Now it is opening up to the world, there is little representation there, few brands, few competitors, but there is a high barrier to entry, that is, we need a Saudi partner, but since only Swarovski is represented in our segment, I consider this market to be very promising. At the same time, in the Emirates, in Dubai, there is a lot of competition, but few barriers to entry. And since for the Arabs Russian jewelry immediately means quality, the demand for it will be great.
TRAVEL AND FOOD
Dmitry Golikov, Plenipotentiary of the National Union of the Hotel Industry of the Central Federal District, spoke at the conference. He drew attention to the high potential of car tourism in Russia, the development of a network of camping and glamping sites.
– Now there are about 43-47 million car owners in the country. Of these, more than 50% are ready to travel actively or are already traveling. Based on this, we say that the potential audience is more than 25 million families of travelers. With proper work and the organization of the infrastructure for individual tourists, it is possible to form an additional tourist flow to the region and earn additional money, Dmitry Golikov noted.
Andrei Belyanin, director of the Tamaki group of companies, shared his success story in the food industry. Tamaki’s line of sauces and dressings includes more than 30 items, in addition, the company makes ingredients for making sushi and rolls, and has also created a community of chefs.
– This year, together with the federal competence center, we participated in a productivity improvement program, – said Andrey Belyanin. – Thanks to it, we increased efficiency by 30% and reduced inventory by 60%. Very good program, I recommend it to everyone. We have declared that next year will be “the year of retail”. We say this: if you used to go to a restaurant, now the restaurant goes to your house. It is enough to order our sauces in the market and, thanks to new flavors, be inspired by new trips around the world.
