Cyrillic is pricked on keyboards – Business – Kommersant

Demand for engraving Cyrillic layouts on keyboards and laptops has grown by 20-30% over the past six months, market participants say. And if before the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions due to hostilities in Ukraine, such services were usually ordered by individuals, now the demand has shifted towards electronics distributors. Distributors confirm the trend and say that they are ready to start the engraving business themselves. But their plans can be hampered by a possible shortage of consumables and components, market participants warn.

Over the past six months (from March to September), the number of orders for Cyrillic engraving services on keyboards and laptops has increased by 30% year-on-year, Yury Zhogov, manager of McGraver workshops, told Kommersant. The trend is also confirmed in another engraving service, Gravirovkapro.ru: there, demand growth over the same period is estimated at 20%. At the same time, according to Mr. Zhogov, most of the orders are placed by legal entities, mainly electronics sellers.

Aleksey Dudin, head of the development department of the Network of Computer Clinics, also speaks about the growth in demand for such services from legal entities, and not private clients. “We considered opening our own line of engraving business, but ultimately decided to bring in partners. At the moment, we are working in this format,” says the top manager.

The demand of electronics distributors for Cyrillic engraving services on keyboards and laptops is associated with the legalization of parallel imports in Russia.

The fact is that suppliers began to import laptops and keyboards into the country that were not intended for the Russian market – and, therefore, without the Russian layout. The layout is engraved by the manufacturer directly at the manufacturing plant, depending on the country where the equipment is delivered. (cm. “Kommersant” dated July 25).

“For the convenience of customers, we ourselves engrave laptops that are not intended for the Russian market, based on our own infrastructure and with the participation of a specialized partner. Our own one-year warranty applies to such devices,” says Oleg Reznikov, director of the Home Office and Photo cluster of the M.Video-Eldorado group. The top manager adds that for budget laptop models, customers are offered stickers with Cyrillic letters in the kit, rather than engraving. “In the future, we are considering providing an engraving service for devices purchased outside our networks,” he concluded.

However, the development of such a business may be hindered by a shortage of consumables and components for equipment, the owners of engraving services warn.

According to Yuri Zhogov, the delivery time for consumables, some of which are produced in Europe, has increased significantly. “Where before it was possible to receive an order in three weeks, now the waiting time for a part can be up to two months,” he says. Among the consumables and components, Mr. Zhogov names, in particular, a laser emitter, beam rotation systems (scanators), optical lenses. “We now have a reserve of all parts subject to wear and we order them in advance. But if the reserve runs out, then we will have a choice – to switch to Chinese counterparts or optimize work while waiting for spare parts from the EU, ”he says.

Timofey Kornev