The Graduate School of Marketing and Business Development of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, with the support of ROCKWOOL, hosted a round table “Adaptation of the company to protracted stagnation. Survive and / or ensure long-term growth in the future? with the participation of leading experts in the construction industry. As part of the event, ROCKWOOL Russia Marketing and Strategic Development Director Irina Sadchikova spoke about the experience of effectively doing business in crisis situations and forecasts for the development of the construction industry.
In her speech, Irina Sadchikova said that for 9 months of 2016, oil prices fell from $ 54.4 to $ 39.7 per barrel, construction activity showed a decline of 4.5%, and the volume of housing decreased by 5.5%. Nevertheless, most experts predict a slight GDP growth next year - by about 1-1.5%. Since the economy has already suffered from the sanctions and the low oil price and has adapted to current conditions, accordingly, this will not happen a second time.
Since the construction industry is directly dependent on the state of the economy, if there is growth, the second half of 2017 may improve, and then positive dynamics can be expected in 2018, but the volume of construction will return to the pre-crisis level by about 2020.
According to Irina Sadchikova, “the positive power of difficult situations” lies in the fact that it makes it possible to evaluate the company's activities from the outside and organize the work more efficiently.
Thus, the ROCKWOOL company adapts to the current conditions, using the experience of the past crisis and the world experience of the divisions, and has several development scenarios and a model that allows for prompt changes.
Much attention is paid to financial control, which allows maintaining the level of debts at the pre-crisis level. The maximum transition to Russian suppliers, as well as the introduction of new production technologies provided serious compensation for inflation in raw materials. The product portfolio was also optimized by dividing them into several categories, which made it possible to attract new consumers.
Irina Sadchikova noted: “In the long term, there is significant potential for growth in the Russian construction market, the main driver of which is the provision of housing to the population: for example, a Russian has 24 m², and a German - 42 m². Also, great opportunities for market development are associated with the fact that about 60-80% of the existing housing stock requires reconstruction."
Igor Kolynin, Marketing Director of STD Petrovich, also spoke at the round table with the topic “Retail, as we know it, will cease to exist” and shared his experience of introducing an omnichannel approach in interaction with clients. And Svetlana Prytkova, Commercial Director of Stroydepo, spoke about “Business restructuring and detachment from international giants in a stagnating market”.
About company
The ROCKWOOL CIS division is part of the ROCKWOOL Group of Companies - the world leader in stone wool solutions. The products are used for insulation, sound insulation and fire protection and are intended for all types of buildings and structures, as well as for shipbuilding and industrial equipment. ROCKWOOL provides consulting services in the field of energy efficiency in buildings, supplies system solutions for facade insulation, roofing and fire protection, decorative panels for facades, acoustic suspended ceilings, sound barriers to protect against road noise and anti-vibration panels for railways,artificial soil for growing vegetables and flowers.
ROCKWOOL was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Denmark. ROCKWOOL owns 28 factories in Europe, North America and Asia. The staff numbers over 10,000 specialists. Russian production facilities ROCKWOOL are located in Zheleznodorozhny, Moscow Region, Vyborg, Leningrad Region, Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Region, and SEZ "Alabuga" (Republic of Tatarstan).
Sites: www.rockwool.ru, www.rockwool.by.
