Hello.
I am periodically disgusted by what I read about the functioning of the Russian electronics market, as well as by the “common sense” that is expressed in the invention of information. At the same time, there is not the slightest understanding of how the market actually functions. Parallel imports have created dozens of different schemes by which goods are delivered to Russia, some schemes are one-time in nature, some live long and successfully. The cost of delivering goods has increased, and this is due to several key points – the cost of money itself has changed, logistics chains have lengthened. Direct deliveries of goods are possible only for companies that take all the risks and do not have any noticeable restrictions. For example, these are deliveries from China, when large manufacturers organize both logistics and everything else, do not even try to pretend that they are not present in Russia or do not conduct commercial activities here. It is enough to look at the companies registered in Russia, the names of importers and those who place advertisements in various channels. These are exactly the same companies that were before 2022, there are no attempts to hide. Although it can be said that there is a different approach to PR: press releases are issued by retail chains, or PR agencies throw them to journalists on their own initiative. For the market, it is an open secret – who is present in Russia and who is not. And few people outside our country care about this, no one is in a hurry to impose more sanctions on specific companies. It has simply become a tradition to pretend that companies are hiding, there is no point in it, but it is sacredly honored.
Parallel import is interesting because the Russian government forms a list of goods and brands that are allowed for such import. In this case, the manufacturing company cannot influence who supplies goods to Russia, de facto nothing depends on it, the goods go bypassing its headquarters and representative office, if there is one in Russia. Anyone can bring the same iPhones to the Russian market, which created a stir and overcrowded warehouses in 2022, they were brought by anyone and everyone. But they could not sell them within the country, which led to noticeable discounts and a gradual equalization of supply and demand.
The importance of parallel imports is hard to overestimate, thanks to this measure, store shelves in Russia are full, the cost of goods outside the direct control of the manufacturer is lower than the world average. Although the question is how exactly to calculate, many prefer to take the price in restore:, compare it with a basement shop in Mumbai and say that ours is more expensive. Although the things are essentially incomparable.
From the latest examples that are on everyone’s lips, the appearance of Galaxy Buds3 / 3 Pro headphones on the Russian market, the price of the former is 14,990 rubles, the latter cost 19,990 rubles (in large federal networks, with warranty service). For comparison, the lowest cost for them is in the US, where they cost 179 and 249 dollars, add the state tax (in New York it is almost 9%). Such a qualitative change in price down shows a simple thing – that competition in the largest market in Europe, and Russia remains such, is fierce, each company is trying to fight for its buyer.
Another example is Huawei Watch Fit 3, the price of these smart watches in China is 999 yuan, you can find them with a 10% discount, which in rubles will give a little more than 11 thousand. In Russia, they are sold for exactly the same money, unlike Europe or the USA, where the price is higher than 15 thousand rubles. And there are many such examples, parallel import works and ensures not only filling the shelves, but also competition between companies for the consumer.
The press is constantly talking about how parallel imports will die any day now, as the US will introduce additional restrictions that will finally come into effect. I have been reading the Kommersant newspaper on this topic for the last two and a half years, and it seems that they need to create a negative background and expectations for the future. The leitmotif of every article about electronics supplies is roughly the same – now they have definitely cut off our oxygen supply. The last article on this topic struck me, you can find it right here.
Let’s, as usual, figure out what we’re talking about and why everything in the world is mixed up in the Kommersant newspaper article. A quote to get you started:
“About 10-20% of all laptops go through supply channels in the UAE to Russia, while for other categories of goods the share can reach 30%,” says Kommersant’s source. He clarifies that they began blocking transactions in cases where paid electronics from other countries do not arrive in the UAE. “Russian organizations used companies in the UAE as a way to transfer funds for electronics to China, but the goods themselves were immediately sent to Russia,” explains Kommersant’s source. According to him, making payments through the UAE was due to the lowest possible commission — 1-3%. The refusal to make payments was due to the risk of secondary US sanctions for Emirati banks, which Chinese banks had previously faced, says Kommersant’s source.”
It creates a deceptive impression that the UAE is exclusively used for parallel import and delivery of goods to Russia. But in one paragraph horses, people and everything else are mixed up. Let’s see what exactly Russian distributors bring from the UAE, what deliveries are important to them. First of all, it is a convenient and guaranteed channel for receiving Apple equipment, the same laptops. In parallel imports, the same MacBooks are approximately 75% supplied from the UAE. And it is important to stipulate that they are physically supplied, and not from China or any other location. Therefore, manipulating numbers looks like either a misunderstanding of this fact, or a deliberate misrepresentation. For example, laptops of brands that have significant shares in the Russian market, the same MSI, are not supplied through the UAE, and you can pay for them in a completely different way, there is no need to come up with some strange schemes.
Now let’s look at the second part of the statement that many Russian companies paid for electronics through the UAE and local bank accounts. Now this is impossible to do, it is associated with the risk of secondary sanctions. Is it true? Definitely.
In parallel imports, payment for goods is often made through intermediaries, such as banks or companies in third countries. And in theory, the ban on payments through the UAE can really work, but only if the Russian company tried to do all this directly. For example, when buying goods in China, for some reason it used an intermediary, and not direct payments to the Chinese side (there are also problems with such payments, but they can be solved).
Let’s remember how exactly goods are imported to Russia to avoid sanctions. Neighboring countries are used as intermediate points, for example, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and others. Physically, the goods arrive in these countries and from there they are sent to us.
For each such country, this is simply a gold mine, and the trade turnover goes both ways. Many people mistakenly believe that parallel imports exist only in Russia. But, on the contrary, many European countries and the USA buy Russian goods of various kinds through intermediaries, and trade has not stopped at all. Look, for example, at the export of goods from Armenia to the same UAE.
Moreover, the export of goods often serves as payment for the same electronics that come to Russia. Before us is an exchange of one product for another, and all intermediaries win. The competitive Russian electronics market burns the margin of sellers and distributors, and economic growth creates excess consumption. Which ultimately leads to market growth and consumption of goods. Look at how the prices of electronics and the cost of the same furniture look, two different stories will open up before you. Where there is competition, everything is fine, and where there is only Italian furniture and minimal demand for it, everything does not look so interesting.
It is not difficult to estimate payments through intermediary banks in the UAE or intermediary companies. This is approximately 5-7% of all electronics supplies to Russia. On the one hand, this is a lot, but on the other hand, it does not create any problems for the market. Companies will find other ways of working, as they did in previous years, there is no doubt about it. It is completely absurd to import Chinese goods to Russia through Dubai, since this is not the most optimal scheme, and why is it needed. As a rule, small and sometimes medium-sized companies that have not learned to quickly find effective financial instruments are at risk. Or they are ready to take risks, gaining an additional percentage of the cost of the goods, since payment through intermediaries is always a high risk of losing your money and not seeing the goods.
The chant that all prices will rise and there will be a shortage of goods on the market has become a bit boring. Prices will rise, but for exactly different reasons. They are rising all over the world, and there are no exceptions, the era of cheap electronics is over. You can observe the shortage of goods by opening any Russian store in a couple of clicks, you will see for yourself that there are no restrictions. And past forecasts that there will be a shortage have not come true. So you can relax and live peacefully on, cultivating rationality in yourself in order to find the right discounts and buy goods profitably. In our time, perhaps, this is the main skill.
Source: mobile-review.com
