Cashback is raffled off like a laptop – Newspaper Kommersant No. 242 (7443) of 12/28/2022

The government is discussing the possibility of banning the import of computers and laptops from Dell, HP, HPE, Acer, MSI and other foreign manufacturers into Russia. This initiative was put forward by the domestic vendor ICL. He also proposes to stimulate demand for Russian computers through a 20% cashback program for citizens. Retailers and officials support the idea of ​​launching a cashback program, but oppose the restriction of parallel imports, warning of the risks of a reduction in the range and an increase in illegal supplies.

“Kommersant” got acquainted with the letter of the general director of LLC “Aisiel Techno” (ICL brand, produces computers, monitors, laptops, etc.) Yevgeny Stepanov, sent on December 8 to the head of the Ministry of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev.

It proposes new measures to support Russian electronics manufacturers, in particular the introduction of a ban on parallel imports of Dell, HP, HPE, Acer, MSI, Inspur, Asus, Lenovo and Fujitsu equipment.

This measure, the letter notes, will allow “to free the Russian market from companies that have refused to work in Russia, and to increase the share of Russian computer technology to 50%.” The interlocutor of Kommersant, who is familiar with the ICL proposal, says that in terms of the ban on parallel imports, we are talking primarily about consumer electronics, that is, personal computers, monoblocks, laptops.

ICL also proposes to introduce a recycling fee for imported computer equipment in the amount of 20% of the cost with the simultaneous issuance of subsidies to Russian electronics manufacturers (similar to the existing scrap fee for cars).

Mr. Stepanov considers it necessary to take a number of measures to stimulate sales of Russian electronics in the consumer segment.

In particular, we are talking about issuing preferential loans for the purchase of domestic equipment by distributors for its further sale, as well as launching a cashback program for the same 20% for citizens who are ready to purchase Russian consumer electronics in retail.

ICL’s initiatives were discussed on December 21 at a meeting with domestic manufacturers and retailers with Andrey Zarenin, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation, says a Kommersant source in the IT market, “conceptually, the meeting participants supported many of ICL’s proposals, but the stumbling block was the issue of limiting the parallel import of a number of brands of equipment” .

The Ministry of Industry and Trade told Kommersant that, together with the Ministry of Digital Development, they are working out mechanisms for financial and marketing support for consumers of Russian radio-electronic products, including through the provision of soft loans and through the return of part of the cost of equipment to buyers.

At the same time, the ministry stressed that they see no need to exclude foreign brands from parallel imports.

“We are working on the possibility of fine-tuning the parallel import mechanism by segments,” they note there. The Ministry of Digital Development believes that an increase in demand for Russian products should be achieved “through competitive solutions, and not by banning imports.”

The Russian Association of Trade Companies and Producers of Electrical Household and Computer Equipment (RATEK; unites M.Video-Eldorado, DNS, Marvel Distribution, Citilink, Huawei, Beko, etc.) supports the idea of ​​cashback for buyers of Russian equipment, said its representative is Anton Guskov. But RATEK sees the introduction of a waste tax, as well as the initiative to limit parallel imports, as inappropriate. “We believe that only the goods of those who officially import them into the country should be excluded from the list of brands allowed for parallel import,” they said.

Import restrictions will negatively affect the available assortment needed to meet demand and may destabilize the situation on the market, while increasing the volume of products entering Russia illegally, without the necessary documentation, M.Video-Eldorado adds.

At the current stage of development, it is possible to achieve high rates of increasing the share of sales of domestic laptops “only by reducing the total number of devices sold,” says a Kommersant source in one of the foreign laptop manufacturers.

The introduction of a disposal fee, in his opinion, will increase prices for consumers. “For the development of the market, including laptops, it is necessary to introduce measures to support production, not sales,” the interlocutor of Kommersant is sure.

The capacities of Russian manufacturers are ready to supply 1.5-3 million laptops per year, says Aleksey Melnikov, managing partner of the F + tech group. However, according to Maxim Koposov, director of Promobit, Russian companies now produce about 250 thousand laptops a year, most of which are supplied to the public sector. In total, according to GS Group, 2.7 million laptops were delivered to Russia in 11 months, the fall in piece terms was 65%. In general, F+ tech supports ICL’s proposals, “Now foreign brands sell their goods in Russia, some even keep offices here, while not paying taxes and not providing warranty service,” says Mr. Melnikov. He admits that the introduction of a scrap levy in the short term may increase the prices of imported equipment, “but they are already rising due to the costs of more complex logistics.”

Nikita Korolev, Timofey Kornev