Goods do not need replacements – Kommersant

The popular strategy of promoting new consumer brands in Russia over the past year as a replacement for well-known and, as a rule, global brands that have left the local market, seems to be beginning to show its weaknesses. A striking example is the recent opening of the first of ten planned stores of the Belarusian chain of household goods Swed House, which was called in the media an analogue of the departed IKEA. The exit of the retailer was accompanied by a wave of publications in the media, fueling consumer expectations, but the opened facility with an area of ​​​​about 300 square meters. m disappointed many.

In industry Telegram channels, “cheap sharks” were noted, and buyers interviewed by Reuters pointed to the too small area and the display of goods incomparable to IKEA. Operators of commercial real estate turned out to be skeptical as well. The manager of shopping centers in Yekaterinburg called the local Delovoy Kvartal portal the launch of Swed House a “cheap hype”, refusing to compare the “absolutely uninteresting project” with IKEA.

Swed House may not be the only such example. At this week’s industry conference, the Korean clothing brand 8 Seconds was presented, which was compared “by style and popularity” with the Japanese brand Uniqlo and the Swedish H&M, which closed their stores in Russia. In five years, 8 Seconds wants to open 25 franchise outlets in the Russian market – about half of the number of existing Uniqlo stores, but the question remains whether demand will be sufficient to implement expansion plans. Now buyers of 8 Seconds clothing, already available on online platforms, note that the comparison of the quality of products and materials of the new brand with the more famous Japanese brand is not in favor of the first.

Consumers of Russian herbal liquors leave similar mixed reviews on the online windows of alcohol stores, which the media managed to stick with the label of the “killer” of the German Jagermeister, highlighting only the low price among the advantages. And most of the Coca-Cola analogues that have appeared on the shelf, sometimes directly claiming the market share of the American brand, are skeptical of experts who predict such brands will gradually disappear from the range.

Perhaps the modest results of some new brands that have entered the market will force market participants to heed the recommendations of marketers and promote a unique product without relying on well-known analogues. To win in the eyes of consumers when compared with world names, if not impossible, then extremely difficult. Of course, without headlines in the media with the words “similar to IKEA” and “replacing Uniqlo”, there will be less noise around the opening of new stores, but proper positioning can help further development without disappointing consumers.