In the new realities in our country, not only fashion but also beauty companies have changed their work. How do cosmetic stores work today, should we expect autumn novelties from European brands and why have prices increased for our favorite products? All these questions of the BeautyHack.ru editors were answered in detail by the President of the Rive Gauche group of companies, Edgar Shabanov.
How has the work of your stores changed under the new conditions?
But we had to restructure the work of some departments of the office. For example, we put more emphasis on introducing new brands to the assortment, and carried out changes in logistics schemes. Also changed plans for online promotion. This is also a necessary measure: today we cannot promote our products in two major social networks, as well as in the Google search engine (from there there was a significant traffic of buyers to the website of the online store).
How are brands delivered from Europe?
If we talk about large commercial brands that have their own representative offices in Russia, then their behavior in the field of distribution differs from each other. How long the restrictions set by some brands will last is unknown to us or them at the moment.
Are there new brands in stores now?
We are actively working on replenishing the assortment with new brands. It is unlikely that anyone will be able to completely replace the outgoing brands because of their high recognition and brand dependence of consumers. But we are working to ensure that our customers are satisfied with the products offered: we are introducing new brands of affordable niche perfumery, facial care from new European manufacturers (we are not ready to disclose the names of these brands until the official premiere of the brands).
Also, over the past three months, more than 50 Russian brands have been introduced to the network, including Aravia, Ecolaiter, Mi&Ko, Krasnopolyanskaya cosmetics and many others.
Should we expect autumn novelties from foreign brands in stores? Will they be priced higher?
Many foreign brands are still interested in the Russian market. At the moment we are actively negotiating with manufacturers from different parts of the world – Italy, Greece, Israel, India, Korea. Of the bright expected novelties of autumn, we can still voice a little (but this does not mean that our work is being carried out with such an already truncated circle of contractors). For example, now we are preparing to launch a new large series of facial care for the PUPA brand, which is loved by many women (before that, the company supplied only decorative cosmetics). Also, very soon we will be able to please our customers with the fragrances of the world-famous brands Costume National and Halloween.
Due to restrictions, the delivery of goods to Russia has become more difficult, but together with our partners we are developing and implementing new delivery algorithms.
As for the prices for new brands, we are primarily interested in making them affordable for customers and consistent with the positioning of the brand.
Are the prices going up at all? How much and why?
We have partially raised prices, and there are a number of objective reasons for this. First of all, there was an increase in the purchase price from suppliers who ship from Russian warehouses. Following this, we also had to increase the cost of goods.
In addition, part of the assortment currently has problems with replenishment due to logistical problems. The price could also change for them due to the equalization of demand with a limited supply.
In the assortment of our stores there is a large number of goods for new, not yet so well-known brands with fairly low prices. This stimulates the buyer and gives him the opportunity to choose and get acquainted with the products of new brands.
How is it more profitable to buy funds from your network now – online or offline?
I can not say where it is more profitable to buy our goods. We run a large number of promotions daily, both online and offline. So, the same product today can be found at a reduced price in an online store, and tomorrow we will offer it at a promo offer in an offline store.
It is also important to consider that each of these sales channels has its own advantages. In an online store, it is better to buy a product in one click that you already know well, and in an offline store it is convenient to test a new product or a tool that is still unfamiliar to you in order to understand whether it is suitable or not. Choosing only what you really need can save you a lot of money.