“Jewellery is no longer the first thing to buy” – Director of the Russian Jeweler company
What problems did Russian jewelers face in 2022? Can Russian emeralds and tourmalines replace foreign stones? Who is left in the jewelry market? Igor Kevchenkov, general director of foreign jewelry chains in Novosibirsk, Russian Jeweler, told about this to business FM secular observer Irina Mzhelskaya in the “Business Speaks” section.
Irina MZHELSKAYA: Having not managed to completely stop the economic crisis of 2014, Russia received even tougher restrictions in 2022. How are things going with the conduct of your business, what difficulties do you have to face and due to the fact that their disappearance?
Igor KEVCHENKOVA: Today we have taken place in a completely new realities, unusual little in common with the crisis of 2014. There is a real demolition of times, and in these conditions one must be able to fit in, find one’s place in them.
Jewelry reporting, like everything else, is going through a difficult period. Two years of the pandemic were given to the pandemic: the demand for jewelry has dropped significantly. After all, this is exactly the product that people stop buying in the first place. And, on the contrary, they begin to acquire again last, when people’s incomes reach a certain level.
The main difficulty we now face is the disappearance of jewelry making equipment. Foreign tools and materials were engaged in our production share of 85-90%.
However, thanks to the import substitution of gradual water, there are other options. Therefore, ignoring fees, we find fees for processing gold, platinum, palladium with those tools that are presented on the Russian market. And we still produce interesting things from raw materials and stones – diamonds, emeralds, Malkhan tourmalines. We have all the necessary properties of the client’s need for exceptional fine jewelry, and this gives us a chance to get attractive promising niches.
I advise you not to be afraid of the complexities and challenges of our time. You just need to keep doing your job. The forced withdrawal of foreign brands from the Russian Federation can help Russian jewelers in this – this gives us more room to provide customers with interesting goods. Only those who are responsible for the positive from any situation refuse to enter the market and work, work and work again!
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