Archi.ru:
How long ago did ICE Agency start working on the Russian market and what services does it offer?
Maurizio Forte:
ICE agency has been operating on the Russian market since 1966, when the political and economic context in the country was completely different. Today ICE Agency is accredited as the Trade Exchange Development Department of the Italian Embassy in Moscow. Four offices located in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk are successfully operating on the territory of the Russian Federation. ICE also coordinates activities on the territory of Armenia, Belarus and Turkmenistan.
The agency provides assistance to increase exports and investment through a wide range of services and support programs, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises and their associations both at the stage of entering the local market and at later stages of development and consolidation.
Among the most popular and important support services for companies is the search for local partners, through which the relevance of the product is checked for Russian clients potentially interested in cooperation. This allows you to use the specific capabilities of a particular company in the interests of the business. The ICE Agency network in Russia annually implements about 100 promotional projects and provides personalized services to more than 3 thousand Italian companies.
Cooperation in which sectors has been developing most dynamically in recent years? Which companies working in the field of building materials, engineering solutions and interior products are already successfully operating on the Russian market? Which ones are interested in increasing their presence on it?
From the point of view of trade exchange, Russia and Italy largely complement each other: we buy raw materials in Russia, and she buys from Italy products that are either not produced at all on the local market, or are very different in their quality characteristics from the Italian ones. The perception in Russia of products labeled "made in Italy" is largely associated with such consumer goods as food, agricultural products, fashion, design. The best samples in the field of mechanical engineering, technologies and industrial goods are highly valued - their share in our exports exceeds 40%.
The number of Italian companies that successfully operate on the Russian market is very large. Some of them work through agents and distributors, others have opened permanent representative offices in the country, designed to strengthen the company's position in the market and at the same time provide direct control over the distribution network. Companies investing in Russia include Mapei, Altas Concorde, Barausse, Kartell, Natuzzi and others.
In the field of building materials, interior items and design, the most interesting are companies that have already taken the first steps to get to know the Russian market in order to find out how their products meet the requirements existing in the country and what kind of response they find among consumers. One way or another, but today we can note the growing interest in the Russian market on the part of many Italian companies, which testifies to the great prospects for the sale in Russia of various products under the brand “made in Italy”.
The product segments in the interior design sector, where Italian exports have the highest rates, are kitchens, bedrooms, office furniture. Here, according to Russian customs, for 11 months of 2013, the market share exceeded 22%. If, in general, we assess the growth trends for 11 months of 2013, then the greatest increase in demand was noted in the segment of medical furniture (+ 35%). In the field of building materials, the most popular are enamelled and unenamelled tiles, with the highest export figures and a market share exceeding 17%.
What, in your opinion, are the characteristic features of the Russian market and what are its main differences from the European one? What's changing?
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia gradually opened up to international trade. Growth in household incomes and an increase in domestic demand in recent years have led to an increase in imports of finished products. This is mainly due to the need to overcome the shortage of certain goods and the fullest satisfaction of domestic demand, and in some cases - with the production of products of similar quality.
One of the country's tasks is to develop the economy, which still remains highly dependent on energy resources, despite the fact that this market is extremely unpredictable. Economic stability can ensure economic growth in areas far from the oil and gas industry and metallurgy. It should be recalled that one of the priority directions in the policy of Vladimir Putin is to increase the volume of construction, especially housing. Until 2016, in accordance with very ambitious plans, it is planned to build about 100 million square meters of new residential space, and by 2020 this figure will be increased to 142 million square meters. These plans clearly demonstrate the country's serious need for housing. I think that it will be very difficult to realize what was planned in such a short time, however, the tasks set allow us to hope that in the coming years special attention will be paid to the development of the construction industry.
The steady rise of a single market has changed the growth strategy of enterprises. In the past, most companies operated exclusively on the scale of the local or national market. Now it has been replaced by another market - a broader one with huge industrial potential, the ability to innovate, create exclusive products and high-quality industrial goods. Unlike the Russian market, the European market experienced significant growth until the 2008 crisis, but in recent years it has experienced significant difficulties in striving to return to stable growth. A wide range of technologies, the use of organizational models that match the nature of the global market, reduction of bureaucratic costs, and easier access to credit could allow European companies to return to pre-crisis levels in the domestic market and increase their competitiveness against the most aggressive global competitors. The European Union is an important partner for Russia. Working in this country, we constantly see this confirmation. Both countries are working to intensify cooperation, eliminate visa barriers, and further develop trade exchanges and investments. Italian companies, in particular, view the Russian market as a good opportunity for expansion.
What levels of communication between Italian companies and the Russian side do you consider to be the most successful?
The level of communication is excellent, thanks to the growing interaction between the two economies and individual entrepreneurs of both countries. Visits to numerous Italian and Russian exhibitions, delegations of enterprises, frequent working trips to Italy and Russia, an active tourist flow of Russians to our country, human and cultural harmony - all this creates a very fertile ground for communication between enterprises. From a “technical” point of view, we always recommend that Italian companies maintain direct contact with partners based on a dialogue, clear and definite, in which government bodies can also participate in order to facilitate cooperation and business development.
In 2013, the Italian side delighted Russians with the wonderful collections of Caravaggio and Titian in the Pushkin Museum, as well as a number of concerts of Italian music. What events in the field of trade exchange would you call especially significant over the past year?
By drawing the attention of the general public to a particular work in Italy or Russia, we thereby open up new opportunities for expanding and strengthening ties and trade exchange between our countries. The Italy-Russia Cross Year of Tourism, which began at the end of 2013, is an important program designed to increase tourist flows, while contributing to the development of national and regional production. Our Moscow office, organizing about 100 events annually - and this is participation in exhibitions with collective expositions, and trips of Russian wholesale buyers to Italy, and the organization of symposia and seminars with bilateral meetings, and trips of groups of entrepreneurs to Russian regions, etc. - creates conditions for the support and growth of trade exchange between the two countries.
The industry exhibition I Saloni WorldWide, presented in Moscow last October, has been considered a starting point for companies working in the interior design and construction industries for many years, since in recent years a separate section of the exhibition has been devoted to Italian facing tiles.
In addition, more and more delegations of Italian enterprises come to Russia, in this they are often supported by industry associations and territorial authorities, which regard Russia as a target market. They usually seek assistance from our office, for example, to help find a local partner or to arrange a business meeting. An equal number of Russian representatives regularly visit Italy. Our agency recruits delegations from representatives of Russian wholesale buyers or architectural workshops, who then (often at the expense of the industry associations themselves or regional authorities) go to Italy, where they get acquainted with specialized enterprises in order to establish new cooperation relations or strengthen existing ones.
How do you assess the results of the last exhibition I Saloni in Moscow?
The high degree of satisfaction on the part of the Italian participating companies speaks for the correctness and necessity of holding such events, which ICE actively supports. Special advertising supplements to industry magazines dedicated to the Italian manufacturers participating in the exhibition, organization of visits to the exhibition by representatives of Russian companies, as well as architects, wholesale buyers and distributors from different regions of the country and neighboring countries - all of this turned out to be very effective measures for Italian exhibitors. Such events promote familiarity with the production districts and orient the demand for the best products made in Italy.
I would also like to mention one more event that took place within the framework of the exhibition. We are talking about master classes by famous Italian architects who shared their professional experience with the Russian audience. In turn, within the framework of this event, Russian industry experts discussed issues of retail trade, design, architecture and communications.
I can note that, according to the National Institute of Statistics Istat, from January to October 2013the volume of furniture exports to Russia amounted to 673 million, which is 10% more compared to the same period in 2012. This inspires us to continue our promotions and to support Italian companies operating in the Russian market in every possible way.
Tell us about your plans for the future. What is the development strategy of the Agency in the segment of construction, architecture and design?
In the future, as today, we intend to continue to support Italian companies in the Russian market with all the means at our disposal. After all, we are well aware that we are working in a market with great potential, where the consumer highly appreciates Italian products.
Among the planned activities in 2014 - work on informing and the most effective assistance to Italian companies in entering the Russian market, support in participation in exhibitions in the form of specially designed types of services, organization of corporate presentations, meetings with potential local partners, accompaniment of company representatives in moving around the regions Russia, inviting wholesale buyers to Italy to participate in seminars, exhibitions and excursions to enterprises.
ICE's home furnishings and construction strategy will not undergo much change and will focus on increasing participation in events such as Saloni WorldWide, which are yielding positive results every year. At the same time, attention will be paid to the development of regional territories and other cities of Russia, in addition to Moscow and St. Petersburg, where our companies will also be able to work successfully. It is with companies specializing in the field of interior and construction items that business trips to Russian regions are organized, while this format allows you to reduce distances, promotes business, and allows you to schedule meetings in the offices of local partners. The invitations of wholesale buyers and architects to Italian factories, including in peripheral cities, are just as frequent. In all cases, direct negotiations contribute to the development and expand the possibilities for establishing new trade relations between the two countries.
Related links: Mapey Company, Atlas Concord Company, Barausse Company, Cartell Company, Natuzzi Company.
