November 08, 2007

Representation of household appliances in retail points of sale

Direct INFO has finished yearly monitoring of specialized retail shops, which sell household appliances and TV sets. Monitoring was carried out in 168 Russian cities with a population of more than 100 thousand inhabitants. The main goal of the project was to analyze the representation of various types and trademarks of household appliances in retail points of sale (POS).

As part of the study, Direct INFO found that 5300 retail shops sell household appliances and TV sets in the targeted cities. In each city, the following retail shops were considered: independent shops, local, federal and franchise retail chains, and manufacturer's outlet store (firm shops). During the monitoring process, a unique assortment of each POS was collected into a united database for processing.

Project results show a balanced representation in Russia of refrigerators, washing machines, kitchen ranges, and TV sets. Every second specialized shop sells the before mentioned appliances (52%, 52%, 55%, and 56% from total number of POS, respectively). Dishwashers are less commonly found in retail shops, only a third part (36%) of POS is selling them. Small household appliances (kitchen units, blenders, microwave ovens, desk-type electric stroves, vacuum cleaners, juice squeezers, coffee machines, irons, and toasters) are represented more often:, Most (82% from total number) of specialized retail shops.

In addition, all information was analyzed from point of view of federal districts, separate Russian regions, above-mentioned types of retail POS, size of explored cities (100-200 thousands, 200-500 thousands, and more than 500 thousands of peoples), and separate trademarks and brands.

For more information or to order this report, please call Direct INFO at (495)745-4020.

About Direct INFO company:
Research company Direct INFO (http://www.directinfo.net/) has operated for ten years on the Russian market with over 300 Russian and multinational clients successfully served. We are set apart from the crowd by our unique set of resources, methodology and experience. Our informational and consulting services range from multi-million dollar market entry projects to ad hoc company reports. Leading markets of the Russian Federation are represented almost continuously.
Unique resources – Data and networks. Our continuously updated business statistical database is the largest privately held database of it’s kind in the world, and it is dynamically linked. Extensive experiences with expert interviews at various levels within the key sectors of the Russian economy gives us a unique set of interview resources for effective qualitative analysis.
Unique methodologies – internal systems. Over 35,000 programming hours has gone into intellectual property (IP) system investments, which saves project time, enhances data content and reduces the chance for mistakes.
Unique experience – Our people. Our project leaders are recruited from technical universities and are trained to effectively meet client demands. Amongst our staff there are even Philosophy Doctors. We maintain standard operating procedures to suit world-class standards, developed over a decade of ongoing market engagement.
Depending upon result requirements, Direct INFO may tailor deliverables according to needs. Most of our deliveries come in the form of hard copy. If the project is large and complex, we provide a management presentation included. Overseas deliveries are typically sent electronically and a conference call typically enhances comprehension. Some technical deliverables come within a software package and data updates.

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November 08, 2007

Russian market of kvass: growth can be limited only by demand

Direct INFO has carried out an in-depth research of the Russian market of kvass. The goal of this research is to determine market volume, shares of main market players, volumes of domestic Russian production, and estimation of kvass production capacities.

In frame of research only natural kvass was carefully investigated (i.e. drink prepared by means of natural fermentation). Kvass beverages, namely carbonated beverages containing a flavoring agent of “Kvas”, or natural blending kvass processes were excluded from consideration because such beverages were considered not significantly close enough to the market of the native Russian drink kvass by natural fermentation.

Specialists of Direct INFO have founded that in 2006 in Russia produced more than 28000 thousand deciliters of kvass. More than half of this quantity (about 63%) falls at two market leaders: CJSC MBBF "Ochakovo" (kvass under brand “Ochakovskiy”) and OJSC “Deka” (brand “Nicola”). According to the results of 2007 until now, 40% growth is predicted over last year.

In spite of such a large growth rate, the kvass market still has significant growth potential for both demand and supply. During the last few years, consumers have been requiring more naturally produced food products. Kvass falls into the category of natural beverages. For kvass producers, changing market tastes presents an opportunity, because due to growing demand, producers can use their existing production capacity more effectively. Direct INFO has estimated that in 2006, the average utilization rate of capacities on kvass production was about 21% in Russia. Total Russian productive capacities in October 2007 amounted to 135000 thousand deciliters. During the study, we found that many companies have plans to increase their productive capacity of kvass. Russian kvass producers from a technical point of view are ready for market growth. During the next few near years, the growth of the Russian kvass market will be directly related to the growth in demand. Will technical requirements shift to marketing requirements after the current demand is saturated? A follow-up study focusing on consumer tastes may help move the market along that path.

For more information or to order this report, please call Direct INFO at (495)745-4020.

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May 03, 2006

Direct INFO: Distribution and Logistic Systems in Russia, a Barrier for Investors

MOSCOW--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 3, 2006--Marketing in Russia is similar to marketing anywhere in the world, but unique challenges arise when managing product distribution. Many local producers and foreign importers agree that presence in the local Russian market depends upon the effective management of local distribution chains.

Knowledge of distribution channels in Russia remains a big barrier, and many times the biggest barrier, to success for investors who can't access their customers. Foreign companies planning market entry should take into account that distributing product in Russia is different from Western Europe or North America.

To many investors, the Russian market is still incomprehensible, seemingly closed and monopolized. The market can appear even more opaque in the regions, where a behemoth distributor can dominate channels for five thousand unique strategic keeping units (SKUs).

As investors struggle to enter the Russian market and increase market share, they often come to respect the need for understanding of - and control over - distribution systems, policies and logistical flows. Periodic benchmarking of competitors and product-specific distribution channels is considered a necessity for many players, even the locally entrenched multinationals.

In response to Clients' needs for strategic development of local distribution and logistics systems, Direct INFO has analyzed and mapped over 40 distribution systems from a diverse set of industrial sectors, such as: fast moving consumer goods, heavy machinery, electronics, chemical and material inputs, automobiles and mass media publications.

Dmitry Titov, Consultant for Direct INFO, reports "The results of distribution systems analysis are used by brand managers for marketing, financial controllers for policy and CEOs for general business development. The outside-in approach tends to raise the level of understanding to insiders in unexpected ways - even locally entrenched and experienced players enhance their strategies in Russia by analyzing Distribution Maps."

Distribution Maps were developed for producers and traders to see the whole market picture of Russia, including: key players, products, volume flows, price levels, discounts, mark-ups, and policies for different distribution channels.

Since 1997, Direct INFO has served over 300 multinational Clients with more than 3,000 customized reports.

A brief overview of Direct INFO's Distribution System Map is here - www.directinfo.ru/strategic5.asp

A brief overview of Direct INFO's Benchmarking Study is here - www.directinfo.ru/strategic2.asp

A brief overview of Direct INFO's Company Due Diligence Approach is here - www.directinfo.ru/strategic3.asp

March 2, 2006

Direct INFO Launches New Sector and Brand Monitoring System in Russia

MOSCOW, Russia — Direct INFO ( http://www.directinfo.net ) today announced the launch of a new, one-of-a-kind, Sector and Brand Monitoring System (SBMS) for Russian import and export products. Direct INFO’s SBMS reports ( http://www.directinfo.net/quick4.asp?asp=2 ) cover most market segments and most brands imported to or exported from the Russian Federation.

“We see strong growth in Russia’s business-to-business and consumer markets. Clients are demanding continuous access to technical data in a digestible format for monitoring their sectors and brands of interest. Monitoring is useful to new entrants as well as entrenched multinationals,” said Direct INFO Partner Tate Ulsaker. “We can report on brands and sectors in industries from every product category imaginable, including construction materials, chemicals, heavy equipment, fast moving consumer goods and on virtually any other product group and brand traded between Russia and other countries.”

Direct INFO’s customized SBMS reports include up-to-date analysis by month or by quarter for any number of brands and sectors (product groups) traded between the Russian Federation and the rest of the world. Reports come standard with two years of analysis to show seasonality, breakdowns by country, importer, exporter, port of entry/departure, region and relationships between product value and weight flows.

SBMS reports range in size from 40 to 400 pages depending on the sectors and brands studied. Clients can purchase individual reports or subscriptions that include regular updates to their initial reports.

About Direct INFO

Direct INFO ( http://www.directinfo.net ) is a nine-year-old Moscow-based information consulting company that specializes in providing customized statistical research products, services and reports on businesses, industries and markets in the Russian Federation and CIS states. Its customers include over 300 multi-national companies operating in Russia.

Direct INFO offers a full range of information solutions, including templated “quick reports” and fully customized in-depth research projects for market entry, competitive benchmarking, due diligence and more. Direct INFO maintains one of the largest cross-linked, continuously updated databases of Russian business information. Direct INFO’s proprietary DirectFilter™ software allows clients instant report generation from purchased data.

May 06, 2005

RUSSIA – THE ENERGY BULLDOZER

MOSCOW, Russia – While performing market analysis on the Russian market of bulldozers, Direct INFO staff developed an aggregate snapshot showing that bulldozer-related engineering projects are mostly used to exploit raw energy resources.

Russia is appreciated as the most mechanized energy exporter in the world today. A confirmation of that understanding comes out of a report on the bulldozer market submitted by Direct INFO from an industry-wide benchmarking study.

Level A shows bulldozer-related resource extraction VS other projects such as civilian infrastructure development projects.
In level B, we look more closely at the types of resources being extracted and we see that most of the bulldozer-related resource extraction projects are energy-related.
In level C, we see the ranking of energy-related bulldozer projects starting with Oil, then coal, then gas. As an interesting side note, gold extraction has a slightly larger share than oil extraction overall, when considering the bulldozer-related projects.

This report comes from a report of a larger scope based based upon available primary and secondary data.

For more information about industry benchmarking for purposes of market entry and competitive analysis, inquire with Direct INFO at: 745-4020 or service@directinfo.net. Or visit our website at http://www.directinfo.net.