TASS hosted a press conference dedicated to the development of the consumer market in Russia in 2018, as well as the organization of the largest industry forum Russian Retail Week. Representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade highlighted the initiatives for the current year in relation to retail trade. In addition, during the event, key events were announced HP.

Viktor Yevtukhov, State Secretary, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, spoke about The All-Russian competition "Trade of Russia", which will be held for the first time on the site of the Week of Russian Retail.

«For the first time we announced the All-Russian competition – «Trade of Russia». On the one hand, this is done in order to strengthen competition among retail facilities in terms of the quality of the service provided to the consumer, and on the other, I would like to shift the officials responsible for the consumer market so that they are active, create new directions for the development of the consumer environment on their own territories»

Viktor Yevtukhov

In 2018, more than six thousand people are expected to attend the Russian Retail Week. "The program of the forum will be very rich, we are waiting for quite productive and interesting discussions. Decisions will be made during the forum, but for us the main postulate is that all legislative changes should be discussed with expert communities, with relevant departments, with organizations that are responsible for consumer rights, and after that they should only be submitted for consideration," commented Viktor Yevtukhov in his speech.

This year Russian Retail Week is being held for the fourth time, and it is safe to say that this event has actually become the all-Russian congress of retail market participants. Andrey Karpov, Chairman of the Management Board, spoke about this at a press conference.The Russian Association of Retail Market Experts (RAERR). According to him, a distinctive point is that the forum, in addition to business, gathers representatives of authorities who are engaged in regulating the consumer market, both at the federal and regional levels.

"This is very important for a kind of synchronization of actions and understanding of what is happening in the market. At the same time, all the problems that are voiced at the forum can be discussed with the participation of interested parties and set a trend for what needs to be done, including government agencies for the next period.

Andrey Karpov

The central theme of the forum in 2018 is information technologies, which are used today in all areas of retail companies' development. And within the framework of the business program NRP, more than 70 business events will be held, which will allow the gathered specialists to comprehensively discuss the most important issues in this area.

According to Ivan Fedyakov, General Director of the analytical agency INFOLine, HP is reaching a new level."The Russian retail market, despite all the upheavals of the past years, remains attractive for both Russian and international players. And although today it has moved to the third place in terms of sales (after Germany and France) among European markets, there is every chance for its return to a leading position in the coming years. 

The bottom has been found, and we are waiting for a recovery, which nevertheless will take quite a long time. According to official forecasts, up to 2020, the increase will be 2-3%. And even according to our more optimistic forecasts, by 2020 we will not reach the previous level of consumption in 2014. It is important to note that in 2015–2016 there was very high inflation, and many retailers did not notice a drop in sales in monetary volume. But in 2017, a historic low in inflation was reached (2.5% at the end of the year). And this requires companies to increase their efficiency"

Ivan Fedyakov

Irina Arkhipova, Director of External Relations and Communications of Coca-Cola HBC Russia, said that Coca-Cola is a long-term participant of the Week of Russian Retail, as the forum discusses the latest trends in retail development, and thanked the organizersfor the opportunity to take part in the largest retail event. She also informed about the upcoming session on the topic «Global trends in consumer Health», which will be held as part of the business program HPR, and invited everyone to attend it.

Неделя  Russian Retail 2018 will be held in Moscow, WTC, from June 6 to 8.

Photo: HP press service, shutterstock