Chinese gadgets are hitting the dots
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The structure of the Fplus IT holding will open 30–50 branded retail outlets for Chinese Tecno gadgets and five full-fledged vendor brand stores by 2025. Market participants estimate investments in the development of such a network at 350–400 million rubles. Infinix is also talking about its intention to create its own chain of stores. Experts emphasize that as a result, the number of mono-brand electronics stores may exceed the 2021 figure, which will increase the cost of renting premises in shopping centers.
The Vsesmart chain of stores (part of the Fplus holding) plans to open about 30–50 branded outlets of Chinese electronics Tecno and five full-fledged mono-brand stores of the manufacturer in the largest cities of the Russian Federation by 2025, a representative of the retailer told Kommersant: “The start of the program is scheduled for the second half of the year . In addition to assistance in decorating retail outlets in a unified style or organizing a branded corner, program participants receive support in marketing, training, priority deliveries and financial services.” According to Vsesmart, the Tecno brand in 2023 took second place in smartphone sales in the Russian Federation with a 16% share in the category, and in the first two months of 2024 it grew to 18.5%.
Kommersant’s interlocutor on the electronics market notes that Marvel Distribution, part of Fplus, has been developing a Xiaomi branded retail project for several years, in which about 300 partners participate. According to his estimates, the total investment in Tecno stores by the Vsesmart retailer will amount to about 350–400 million rubles. Tecno declined to comment.
The fact that Chinese vendors Realme and Tecno are planning to start developing their own retail network became known in the fall of 2023 (see “Kommersant” dated October 5, 2023). Another Chinese phone brand, Infinix, did not plan to develop retail at that time. However, now, says Mario Yan, CEO of Infinix in Russia, the company’s short-term plans also include opening stores together with a partner: “We view this primarily as an image project, so we are targeting individual branded outlets.” Realme declined to comment.
M.Video-Eldorado says that this year they will double the number of Tecno branded zones; now there are about 30 of them in the retailer’s network. “In total, the group’s stores have several thousand branded zones of all well-known brands, including Realme, Tecno, TCL, Thunderobot , Apple, Haier and others,” says a representative of the retailer. Many Chinese equipment manufacturers see the Russian market as promising and want to have time to occupy their niche, explains Lyudmila Semushina, a representative of Inventive Retail Group (including restore: Samsung, Xiaomi).
Vladimir Veselov, Vice President of Commerce at Holodilnik.ru, believes that Fplus’s decision to develop Tecno retail is due to the growing popularity of the brand. He notes that the number of stores of brands that have left the Russian Federation is decreasing; they are being replaced by Chinese, Turkish and Russian ones: “As a rule, the development of a retail network indicates the priority of the market for the supplier.” According to the top manager, as a result, the number of branded electronics stores may exceed the 2021 figures.
Landlords have already noticed the trend. Thus, according to the regional director of the real estate department of NF Group, Evgenia Khakberdieva, with the departure of international electronics brands, “a certain level of vacancy has arisen in the segment,” which has opened up opportunities for new players. According to the general director of Infoline-Analytics, Mikhail Burmistrov, due to the increase in the number of brands planning to open points in shopping centers, rental rates are already beginning to rise: “The cost is affected not only by the number of new brands, but also by customer traffic, which has stopped declining, and “For some objects it even shows positive dynamics.”
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