Import substitution in the premium segment

The topic of replacing imported products with Russian analogues is one of the most popular in recent years. But if this is recognized as a fait accompli for mass-demand goods, then until recently it seemed like an impossible dream to conquer the luxury segment.Let's talk about the prospects of the Russian company in the premium niche with the founders of the brand Canoe Valery Tuniyants and Tatiana Karpinskaya.

– You are successfully engaged in import substitution in the premium segment. How do you manage it?

T.K.: As the experience of past years has shown, in the days of economic instability, a quality product is primarily washed out of the market. In 2014, seeing this trend, we decided to bet on increasing the share of high-quality Italian yarns in our collections to 90%. As soon as we began to produce a product from expensive raw materials, we had customers of a higher segment. For example, according to the distributor of the Northwest region, as soon as Scandinavian and German manufacturers left the market, Canoe very timely and competently entered their places. 

– How do you manage to maintain reasonable prices?

V.T.: We just don't overstate them. Pricing Policy Canoe honest: it does not come from our appetites, but from the real cost of raw materials and production. It comes to the ridiculous: buyers and owners of expensive premium and luxury stores say that our product is of excellent quality, but too cheap.

– What do you mean by «high quality production»?

V.T.: High quality of production is when it is not only sewn smoothly. We literally adjust each product to size, make sure that the proportions are perfect. You can just make a hat, stamp the circulation. But the yarn of each color behaves differently in the product, has its own rigidity and extensibility. We are achieving an impeccable landing.

– How are raw materials selected? How is the production arranged?

Because: At the moment in the collection we use 86 types of yarns from the best Italian manufacturers: cashmere, superkidmocher, mohair, alpaca, 100% wool, complex compositions of fragmented dyeing. Lurex, sequins, beads are woven into the threads. The materials were originally manufactured using complex technologies, so the production is quite time-consuming. This is not an ak­reel, with which everything is simple. But at the output, the products are soft, fluffy, gi ­allergenic, and even easy to care for. Each type of raw material is tested for stretching, tactility and so on before purchase. 

Does the Canoe brand have any special know-how?

Because: We are constantly looking for new technologies. Here, for example, we use the invention of Russian scientists – silver nanoobrabotka, thanks to which the headdress acquires bactericidal properties. Or High Twist technology, where high-twisted wool of fine-fleeced merinos is used. Such products are not subject to pilling and do not stretch. An interesting technology for making yarn from fluff, which cannot be processed by conventional methods, – ​3D Tube. The resulting material is 35% lighter than traditional yarn.
We use nanotechnologies of wool processing, where we use Teflon, which prevents the cap from getting wet, as well as the H2DRY technology, which increases the hygroscopicity of the product.
In addition, we make large collections of superkidmocher. Kidmocher is a tender part of the first haircut of a six-month-old goat. If the top, the thinnest and softest, is chosen for the yarn, six is a superkidmocher. Mainly European fashion houses work with such material. Canoe – the largest Russian buyer of this raw material. In the purchase, our product from superkidmocher costs 1,200 rubles. An imported analogue would cost at least 100 euros.
Knowing the specifics of the Russian climate, we insulate many models. And we always use the second layer of natural materials: wool, mohair and others. The principle of Canoe – only natural materials.

Olga Steinberg talked

Photo: Canoe