The World Trade Center Moscow once again hosted the VI International business forum «Retail Week». It is a key industry event that forms the main trends in retail trade, defines state approaches to development of the modern and civilized retail market and helps to identify problems. The event organizers are the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and the Russian Retail Market Experts Association.
Within the frames of the forum the WTC Moscow held a plenary session «Russian retail in the face of challenges and threats. New leadership strategies» attended by the RF Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov.
While opening the plenary session, Viktor Evtukhov, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, called the «Retail Week» business forum a highly intellectual platform to share experience between the leading trading players on the market: «I believe our current platform is a platform of intelligence. Moreover, the intelligence is not artificial, but natural human one. The intelligence of those people who have achieved a lot in their lives, and who are now overcoming devastating consequences that all of us faces today».
He also highlighted that it was too early to sum up the results of the year, but «in any case, we can predict how this year will end and what the coming 2021 can bring us. So, we invite the expert community to discuss it. The agenda is very important and eventful».
In his speech Denis Manturov noted that the current trade situation had been stabilized in the whole and mostly repeated the general economic trend. «According to the results of the last 9 months, retail trade turnover decreased by 4,8%. Any decline is not good, of course, but many people have predicted us more negative dynamic in the spring. Someone said it would be around 10%, and it must be admitted that these predictions were not groundless».
According to the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, the rush demand for the main food products was a crash test for the food sector. «At the peak, grocery sales increased dramatically by 3,5 times, sales of meat and canned goods by 2,5 times. And today the same thing is happening with medicines. However, the distribution network has withstood this test. Moreover, we did it without a moratorium on prices and other shocking non-market decisions».
Denis Manturov emphasized the fact that it was far easier for the food sector. Even during the lockdown, stores were not closed in contrast to the non-food industry. As a result, the turnover decreased by 40% in April and by 30% in May. The turnover of public catering and household services decreased even more: up to 20% of cafes and restaurants did not survive lockdown restrictions and had been closed. At the same time, large food retail and online trade showed a significant growth in sales turnover. «Recently, we would have considered it as an absolute positive outcome, but now we need to admit – it is not the additional demand, but its displacement caused by the epidemiological situation. Online format and supermarkets have merely drawn customers away from small offline retail. Consequently, someone benefited, while others were on the edge of survival. This situation has shown that we need to focus on balanced development of all the existing trade formats».
According to Denis Manturov, the distribution network should comprise all – from hypermarkets, convenience stores, fast food stalls to restaurants, hotels, gas stations. Fairs, markets, and mobile food trucks should become the new reality both for large and small cities. Nowadays we continue working with lawmakers and heads of regions in order to create comfortable conditions: «We are seeking for the most liberal conditions for small and medium business that is ready to develop strictly in the legal field. It regards not only the food sector, but non-food industries and household services as well. We must avoid prohibitions and restrictions: if it was justified in the spring, now there are possibilities of risk reduction without resorting to extreme measures».
The head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade aпreed that «retail sector needs to constantly move forward: to develop actively, study and implement advanced technologies».
Tatyana Bakalchuk, the CEO of WILDBERRIES, highlighted the tendency of the increase of locally-produced goods: «What have we noted this year? Precisely Russian-made products have dramatically increased. They make up about 50% for us [WILDBERRIES] with 40% of the total turnover».
In addition to that, in the opinion of WILDBERRIES CEO, regional suppliers also demonstrate the growth: «Apart from Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, the market share of regional suppliers has grown. We were surprised that the Ivanovo region was ranked third in sales. Its suppliers increased by 300%. It is an incredible success. A number of events for attracting suppliers, conducted jointly with the Government of the Ivanovo region, eventually succeeded’. WILDBERRIES has 70.000 suppliers totally: 50.000 of them are small and medium-sized enterprises, 25.000 are individual entrepreneurs, about 6.000 are self-employed».
In her speech Tatyana Bakalchuk noted that the pandemic had attracted in e-commerce customers over the age of 55. «If we speak about changes in consumer demand, we are not the only ones who points out a change of age groups: more and more customers over 55 have appeared. Also, we see a large increase of purchase orders in small localities.Currently, we have orders from localities with a population of 500-700 inhabitants».
Annual «Retail Week» international business forum brings together federal and regional retail networks, e-commerce, retail trade, FMCG, IT and service providers, retail equipment and solutions suppliers, banks and telecommunication companies, consumer market authorities, trade retail associations and other retail market players.
«Retail Week» is being hosted in hybrid format for the first time. Offline part of the event was held at the World Trade Center Moscow in the form of a private meeting, to join online broadcasts it was possible after the registration via the platform on the website.
The extensive five-day business program, carried out both in Russian and English with simultaneous translation united more than 100 conferences, plenary and expert sessions, webinars and round tables, panel discussions and educational lectures with the main retail experts and the authorities.
A permanent trade exhibition VirtualRetailWeekExpo has been organized on the website for the first time where the exhibitors are presented in the form of a special virtual stand with access to negotiations. In comparison to the traditional format, all interested participants from all over the world can visit virtual stands of service providers and partners of the exhibition.
The forum also sums up the results of annual industry competitions of the RF Ministry of Industry and Trade.