The VI international business forum in the field of fashionable clothes and footwear Fashion Retail & Distribution 29 ended in Moscow on November 2013. More than 350 came to discuss industry trends, exchange experiences and present new technologies for trade.
brand owners, distributors, as well as global, federal and regional retail chains from Russia, Latvia, Ukraine, Greece and Spain.
Many reports and discussions were devoted to the problems of consumption as a driver of economic growth. Figures and facts were provided by strategic analysis experts, as well as real fashion market players.
The global economic crisis is not over, said Igor Nikolaev, partner of FBK, director of the Institute for Strategic Analysis, in his report “Challenges to the Russian Economy”. The trajectory of the Russian economy is a transition from stagnation to recession. Quoting the data of the Rosstat survey: What factors are the most restraining of production activity? - The expert highlighted the 3 most significant problems that the state does not pay due attention to: high taxation level, uncertainty of the economic situation, insufficient demand in the domestic market. Among the main negative factors, business representatives also highlight competing imports, high interest rates on loans and a shortage of labor. Despite the economic situation, Igor Nikolaev states, the dynamics of retail trade remains at a fairly high level (retail trade turnover + 3,5% in 2013).
The decrease in purchasing activity, as explained by Ivan Fedyakov, CEO of INFOLINE, was caused by an increase in non-trade expenditures (increase in housing and communal services tariffs, transport tariffs, initiatives to increase the fiscal burden of the population, a moratorium on indexation of wages in the public sector, etc.).
Yevgeny Lavrov, Retail Director of Jeans Symphony, among the main threats, notes an uncontrolled increase in rental rates, a decrease in visitor traffic (mainly in the Moscow region), an increase in costs and a lack of profit growth.
An important part of the forum was the questions of working with customers: what do you need to know about the consumer in order to increase his loyalty? How to use customer experience correctly in the fight for the consumer? The brands KupiVIP.Ru, Triumph International Russia, Colin's, WGSN, TMHF Group, as well as the Loyalty Library portal presented the practice of introducing the loyalty system. Among the existing tools of the company were called sms-mailings, media digest for email subscribers, official groups on social networks, gift cards, as well as work on reviews and suggestions.
Participants of the Fashion Retail & Distribution forum also focused on the issues of organizing logistics, what solutions and technological innovations allow today to increase the average check and reduce the time of customer service, the development of franchised stores.
The closed club of directors became a special meeting for the CEO of the networks. Without media representatives, consulting and b2b proposals, the top officials discussed how to overcome the decline in sales, how to build a service system in a 5+ company. The discussion was attended by: Petr Malkin, Executive Director, Sinta Gamma, Arman Tataryan, Commercial Director of Delta Sport (Ukraine), Nike, MEXX, New Look brands, Oleg Gruzdev, General Director, Fashion Forum Gallery & Starlette prêt Showroom -a-porter, Andrey Yashunsky, General Partner, FMF.
The session “Millennium Generation: Cultural Shock or How to Sell More to Your Best Buyer?” Aroused particular interest among retailers. Together with branding agencies, professional media communities and marketing experts, they discussed the features of interaction with Generation Y, cooperation with trendsetters, the effectiveness of advertising on blogs and social networks.
In total, more than 20 meetings were held within the two-day forum, which highlighted the key issues of the development of the fashion industry and retail in Russia.
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