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Concluding our conversation, Elena Bugranova – owner of a fashion boutique and The President of the Union of Russian Buyers told about working with young designers, about the problems facing buyers in the context of the current economic situation, and about plansUnion in the new year. 

Elena, tell me, what forms of product presentation are most important for buyers in modern realities? There are exhibitions, showrooms, new forms, such as, for example, online platforms on which manufacturers and brands present their goods and carry out sales. Which of these forms is most relevant, which helps the buyer in his activities?

– Buyers use all the tools in their work. Naturally, going around a lot of showrooms or bypassing exhibition expositions is a lot of physical labor. Travel in itself is an expensive pleasure, in addition, it takes a lot of time and takes a lot of effort. In large stores where many buyers work, large budgets are spent on trips abroad.

I know about the multi-brand platform «Fashion magazin», where you can make online orders, and I think that this is a very timely and promising undertaking. Probably, not everyone will be able to take this form at once, because for buyers, not only visual impressions are important, but also tactile sensations. They like to feel, try on … But I think, as one of the directions, this form of procurement will definitely be in demand, especially if it uses the latest technologies in its development. Perhaps not all 100% of orders can be made online, but a certain amount is unequivocal. Especially when purchases are made from an already well-known brand. It seems to me that all forms of sales, both in retail and in B2B, will continue to exist and occupy their niche.

As for exhibitions, in my opinion, they should pay more attention to which pool of brands they select. For example, I really like the exhibition in Paris Tgapoi, they have a very correct approach – they do not take everyone in a row, but make a strict selection. Many exhibitions work on the principle of "whoever paid" got up". With careful selection of exhibitors, exhibitions will be more attractive to buyers – they will not have to bypass a lot of stands and waste time in vain. Exhibitions should not be very large, it is better to make them narrowly focused. And even within the framework of one exhibition, distribute exhibitors by categories so that buyers clearly understand which pavilion they need to go to.

– It is clear how buyers work with well-known brands. And how are things with young Russian designers? What do they need to do to get into the buyers' field of view?

Since I have my own brand, I treat everyone, especially young designers, with understanding. I conduct educational sessions for those designers who want to work with buyers, explain to them what conditions should be met in order to get into multi-brand boutiques. Designers take this information with great interest.

Now in the Buyers' Union we have created a program to support and promote Russian designers. On our platform, we place catalogs of designers with their direct contacts for free, so that buyers can make their selection and contact these designers directly. To do this, designers register themselves on the site www.buyersunion.ru and upload their collections. In addition, we have created an expert council that examines all catalogs and evaluates brands based on specially developed criteria, identifying both positive aspects and what needs to be changed. The council gives designers the necessary professional feedback. And we do this work for free.

This year, based on the presentation of the expert council of buyers, we selected the best designers and included the main winner of "Sergey Soroka x On Course – in the number of impressions on the recently passed The Best Luxury Stores Awards.

– I would like to talk about what problems buyers have in connection with the difficult economic situation in our country.

– There are a lot of problems for both buyers and business owners now. One of them is the tightening of customs regulations and the introduction of labeling on goods. This adds work and slows down the delivery of goods to the store, respectively, its cost increases. Coupled with the high euro exchange rate, these factors affect the demand for imported goods. Buyers complain about exorbitantly high prices and reconsider their consumer habits.

The decline in consumer demand is the second big problem. Buyers no longer take everything in a row, their purchases have become more planned, they have become more careful about their budgets.

Buyers are now mostly in search of alternatives. Since price plays a big role, brands are considered that have an alternative high-quality, stylish product, but at lower purchase prices, so that they can offer consumers a product plus or minus the same level to which they are accustomed, but cheaper. The days when buyers bought from 5 to 10 items at a time, regardless of the cost, are over. Now everyone is looking at prices, comparing them with online stores.

In principle, this is normal, the whole world has been living in such conditions for a long time. In this sense, we have existed for a long time in fairly comfortable conditions. But all world processes go in the same direction. We just need to adapt to new situations, expand horizons, change the style of work and procurement.

We, in turn, try to pay a lot of attention to these topical issues both on our platform and in our magazine. These are the topics we discussed at the educational business forum for fashion retailers, which was held on November 20. Well-known experts and business practitioners shared their experience, told how to cope with the problems facing the industry.

– Elena, at the end of our interview, share your plans for 2019.

– In relation to Union of Buyers I always have a lot of plans. I am a person who loves to invent something new, I always see great opportunities for development. We plan to actively develop online training in 2019, because for the members of the Union, who represent 80 Russian cities and CIS countries, this form is the most convenient. I believe that online education related to the pressing problems of the fashion industry has a great future. And in this direction we are going to actively develop, create new courses that will be taught by market practitioners. I myself plan to make my own educational program on those issues that will bring maximum benefit to colleagues.

Also in 2019, we are launching a new direction for us - consulting and maintaining social networks of boutiques and brands. We are often approached on marketing and promotion issues, understanding their importance for business. Competition in the market is increasing, and today it is no longer enough to present just a good product. The company must have a recognizable and unique image. We decided to apply our experience and understanding of the tasks of the fashion business in social networks – the main platforms for promotion today.

Elena, good luck in the new year and thank you so much for the conversation!

Natalia Kulagina was interviewed

Photo: Union of Russian Buyers