Uralvagonzavod, the largest manufacturer of tanks and wagons in Russia, will manufacture clothes, shoes, souvenirs and accessories under its own brand. “First of all, it will be street clothes, sweatshirts, T-shirts, jackets and off-road boots,” promises Alexey Zharich, deputy general director of the company. Experts interpret the project as an attempt to strengthen the brand, because, for example, Boeing and Caterpillar are doing the same. But it is worth noting that Western machine builders sell their brand under licenses to clothing and footwear manufacturers.
UVZ plans to open at least three showrooms in Nizhny Tagil, and in August the corporation expects to launch the uvzshop.ru website, which will display its products. The clothes are sewn in China and by several Russian partners, which makes it possible to "make prices for the entire line affordable," assures Zharich. According to UVZ estimates, "the top price for clothes, for example, a raincoat, will not exceed 3 rubles," the price of a T-shirt is about 300 rubles. Investments in the project will amount to about 20 million rubles. The design of things and souvenirs was developed by Alexey Maslov, who was engaged in branding of the Russia Today TV channel and the Snob magazine.
Alexey Zharich explains UVZ's decision to enter a new market by the fact that "sales of clothing and accessories under its own brand traditionally bring large profits to Western manufacturers of military and road-building equipment, such as Caterpillar, JCB and Boeing." Cat branded products can be purchased in many sports chains in Russia. But UVZ does not yet hope for "special revenue" from this direction.
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