Retail trade networks of Russia. How to find your place under the Sun?

Retail trading networks in Russia today can flourish under certain conditions: developed infrastructure in the regions, warehouses of class A, high level of logistics, a certain number of retail areas. Non-compliance with these conditions can lead retail chains not only to slow growth rates, but also to their noticeable lag. The rating of trade networks to date shows that in order to remain competitive in the Russian market, it is necessary to have growth rates of at least 35%, and in some cases even 50% per year. Thus, Ukraine's retail chains, despite their small number, keep quite good positions in the world market.

Do not think that every company that comes to the Russian market is doomed to success. A large number of retail chains is closed, and not having enough time to gain momentum, causing serious damage to suppliers of products. They are absorbed by larger networks, re-bought or simply disappear because of the competition of more solid companies. To come to the trading network today becomes the cherished dream of every trading company and practice shows that this is quite real. It is only necessary to find a place in this business or to occupy a free market niche, which is a sphere of economic activity, limited in scale to a very narrow range of potential buyers.

Trading networks of Russia. Where to start looking for a free market niche?

To get started, you need:

1. To determine for yourself the most acceptable approach to finding a niche market:

• Targeted marketing;
• Vertical marketing;
• Horizontal marketing;
• "Beam" marketing;
• Their own individual approach.

2. Know exactly what unique skills, knowledge or qualifications your team has and how they can be used to find a niche market within the chosen approach.

3. Carefully study the latest changes in the region of services offered by you:

• In the actions of dominant enterprises;
• In the actions of local governments;
• In the actions of civil authorities;
• Other factors that may affect the course of events.

4. Carefully analyze how these changes could affect potential consumers.

5. Determine the potential capacity of the selected niche and compare it with the point of unprofitability of your own business.

Options for the development of a new direction and the development of new niches Russian retail chains provide a great variety, the most important is not to stop at what has been achieved and to apply new, untested methods for developing the concept of new products. This can be the development of a special packaging design, the creation and testing of a new trade line or the study of consumer demand and consumer response to this product. All these steps are aimed at finding your own niche for business prosperity. As the market develops all the time, and niches appear and disappear, it is necessary to develop the niche continuously, or to search for new alternative niches and their development.

It is much easier for a novice to compete with larger companies, as the principle of their work is understandable. Almost always, these are completely established structures with well-developed management and business processes, here people value their place and do not want to lose it. Trading networks of Russia are practically the only way to the heart of the buyer, and entering the network means to accept the mutual obligations of the network and suppliers, as well as to be able to defend one's position without entering into conflict with others. Nevertheless, it is worth remembering that not all networks are worth such efforts, even with the most severe competition, the supplier has a choice of trading partners.