In almost all European countries, the periods and sizes of discounts are strictly regulated. In Russia, however, each retailer draws up a sales calendar independently. This state of affairs invariably leads to early sales and trade wars. The current season is no exception.
"This year, summer discounts for certain product categories began at the end of May," said Elena Kabanova, Fashion Galaxy Marketing Director. This is due to unpredictable weather and not too rosy sales results in March. "At the end of June, at the latest - at the beginning of July, we will have to reduce prices by 50%, otherwise all buyers will go to other retailers."
A similar situation is observed in the luxury segment. “The discounts this season are very large (even in the Bosco brand store in GUM, discounts reach 40% for a certain assortment) and began three weeks ago,” said Dmitry Politov, Soho marketing specialist (Tommy Hilfiger Group). “We were one of the last to join the start of sales - over the past two weeks we have been doing 30% discounts on the card.”
According to Dmitry, discounts have now ceased to be a way to attract customers and have turned into a tool to change the price range. Indeed, at the first price no one is buying a product.
When this started in Europe, trade associations decided to regulate the sales process by setting up a clear timetable. “But we have no particularly influential associations,” says Dmitry Politov, “the business is closed, and everyone is trying to win on this closeness. Whoever made the discount was the first to break the bank. "
Elena Kabanova believes that control over discounts is convenient only for large well-known chains. “Our network is quite young,” says Elena, “discounts allow us to be flexible, attract new customers and build loyalty.”
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