Foreign consumers are interested in goods from Russia - this was the conclusion reached by the participants of the Russian Textile and Light Industry Week, held in Moscow on February 24-26. During the round table "Strategic partnership between Russian retailers and light industry producers of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEC)" held as part of the Week, representatives of the Eurasian Economic Commission expressed their readiness to expand cooperation with Russian producers. According to Galina Martinkevich, Deputy Director of the EEC Department of Industrial Policy, EEC light industry enterprises will be able to unite their efforts and ensure import substitution of Turkish, Chinese and European goods. In addition, Galina Martinkevich stated the need for active interaction between the trade networks of the EAEC members, which will help to guarantee the sale of products to manufacturers and create conditions for fair competition. The expert assigns a special role in this process to electronic trading platforms.

Online promotion and sales of Russian products was almost completely devoted to the first day of the Week of textile and light industry. During this day a series of master classes "Effective off-line and on-line sales. Mechanisms to promote goods and services in the light industry market". Leading specialists, who have repeatedly confirmed their experience in the market, became the leaders and participants of the master-classes. Thus, Alain Bagabo, co-founder and marketing director of the advertising agency "Razvitie", founder of the school of online stores "Ekomers", told about the organization of sales through the online store and the features of online commerce in light industry products. According to him, production companies should be able to ensure the recognition of their brand and attract wholesale customers in the emerging market. In addition, their tasks include expanding the geography of their presence; launching a retail business and attracting customers to it.

Russian light industry products have a reputation for high quality and safety, but, as the forum participants noted, visual characteristics of products do not always meet consumers' expectations. In order to attract a modern buyer, high quality alone is not enough, said Mikhail Sadchenkov, CEO of the national brand "Made in Russia". In his opinion, to promote Russian products on foreign markets, it is necessary to use the latest tools for product positioning, including those offered by the brand "Made in Russia". "Today's foreign consumer, in addition to high quality products, should be given an idea that can distinguish it from its foreign counterparts," said the expert. - High competition for the consumer's attention should force manufacturers to take non-standard steps in promotion and not to be separated by participation in exhibitions".

Other forum participants also agreed with this opinion and highly appreciated the opportunities of Made in Russia, the brand integrator. For example, Andrey Kocherov, Director of External Relations at the Russian Credit and Investment Insurance Agency (EXIAR), believes that companies that position themselves through the collective promotion tool offered by Mikhail Sadchenkov can save significantly through consolidated communication with potential partners and clients. In addition, such companies contribute to the development of the collective identity of products manufactured in Russia.

The event participants paid considerable attention to modern types of product promotion, but did not forget the usual ways of presentation. One of the events held as part of the Week of Light and Textile Industry was the exhibition "Intertkan", where manufacturers such as "BTK Textile", "Baltex", "Tchaikovsky Textile" were able to demonstrate the best examples of high-tech products. Special interest of specialists was aroused by the project of creating a complete technological chain of production of fibers and fabrics, which was implemented by the company "KuibyshevAzot". Within the framework of this project new high-tech equipment was purchased which allows producing fabrics with various properties: "breathable", water- and oil-repellent, windproof and many others. In total, more than 6 billion rubles were invested in the project. The buyers of such fabrics were the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and other power structures, however, the range of the manufacturer also includes "civil" fabrics, which are used for sewing bags, jackets, work and special clothes. In the near future the company plans to establish parachute silk production. With the support of the Foundation for Advanced Studies of the Russian Federation and the laboratory of the Saratov State University, "Special Purpose Materials" has also made significant progress in the creation of fully Russian production of membrane fabrics. Denis Pak, Director of the Department for Development of Domestic Trade, Light Industry and Consumer Market of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, believes that a technological chain for production of synthetic fibers could make a significant contribution to the country's economy - up to 0.2 GDP.

About 20,000 people attended the events of the Russian Textile and Light Industry Week. Seminars, presentations and master classes were attended by almost all major producers of "light industry" in Russia, as well as representatives of the highest legislative and executive authorities. "This week is one of the first landmark events in the line of major expert events of this year", - said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Viktor Yevtukhov. According to experts, this event helped not only to define the main directions of further development of the Russian light and textile industry, but also to strengthen cooperation between Russian and foreign businesses in this industry.

Anna Volkova