From April 27 to April 29, Almaty hosted the 17th World of Trade International Convention – the event that has become traditional in the calendar of the retail industry and annually makes an important contribution to the development of the industry.
This year, the event brought together more than 250 market players on one platform in order to exchange experience and the latest business trends, and most importantly, to establish high-quality contacts between leading retailers and manufacturers of goods, equipment and technologies for the trade market. Manufacturers from Kazakhstan, Russia, Italy, Georgia and Iran took part in the Convention. Representatives of retail chains and distributors attended the offline and online negotiations from Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Georgia.
The World of Trade Convention was held in a convenient format for the negotiation process. Suppliers were able to hold negotiations with more than 50 retailers in two days, introduce them to their products and exchange contacts for further discussion of the terms of cooperation after the event.
Eurasian Trade Congress
One of the important directions of the World of Trade Convention is the Eurasian Trade Congress.
This year the Congress opened with a plenary session “Retail Leaders of Central Asia: Current Business Strategies”. The discussion was attended by the founder and CEO of the INFOline group of companies Ivan Fedyakov, the founder of the INMART and IMFARM retail chains Andrey Poddanets (Kazakhstan), the development director of the Meloman company Igor Vasilyuk (Kazakhstan), the deputy chairman of the board of the Union of retail chains of the Republic of Kazakhstan Elbegi Abdiev, General Director of the M Cosmetic retail chain Denis Kosachenko (Uzbekistan), Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Leonardo CIS retail chain Boris Katz.
During the session, Ivan Fedyakov gave an up-to-date overview of the consumer market in Central Asia.
Assessing macroeconomic indicators, the expert noted that more than half of the food assortment in the retail chains of Kazakhstan is dominated by goods from Russia, in the non-food segment – goods from China.
“After the surge in March last year, when the ruble sharply devalued, we saw its no less anomalous strengthening. And throughout 2022, the ruble was strong both against the US dollar (by almost 20%) and against the currencies of Central Asian countries – by almost 25%. This, of course, affected the fact that goods from Russia, and in many retail chains of Kazakhstan they prevail in the assortment, became more expensive,” the expert spoke.
An important issue of discussion was the state regulation of the industry in order to curb inflation in Kazakhstan. As Elbegi Abdiev noted, the state has two mechanisms to regulate prices for socially significant food products. The first is the establishment of marginal prices, the second is the restriction on the margin on goods, which now stands at 15%.
Video review
“Currently, the tool for setting marginal prices is not used anywhere. Setting a margin limit of 5-10% will result in the product disappearing from the shelves. The greater the regulation, the greater the likelihood of a shortage of assortment and the disappearance of goods from the shelves,” the expert noted.
This year, the plenary session “Online Retail Strategies: Omnichannel, Marketplaces, Online Stores” also took place on the stage of the Congress. Leading industry players spoke at it: Maxim Gubanov, head of Wildberries CIS, Maria Kadantseva, CEO of MD Insight, Alibaba’s official service partner in Russia and the CIS, Andrey Poddanets, founder of INMART and INFARM networks (Kazakhstan), Igor Vasilyuk, director of development of the Meloman company (Kazakhstan), Denis Kosachenko, general director of the M Cosmetic retail chain (Uzbekistan), Zhanna Lukpanova, marketing director of the Sportmaster Kazakhstan company, Alisher Tungushbaev, head of Yandex Delivery (Kazakhstan) and many others.
Experts discussed the current state of retail, analyzed market dynamics and described prospects for the future. The participants also reviewed modern technologies and methods that will help to optimize business processes and increase competitiveness.
At the panel discussion “Online Retail Strategies: Omnichannel, Marketplaces, Online Stores”, Ivan Fedyakov, founder and CEO of the Infoline group of companies, said that the development of marketplaces in Kazakhstan is significantly ahead of the growth of online sales among omnichannel players: 90% versus 30% in the end 2022.
The representation of Kazakh companies is also growing on the Alibaba online platform. According to Maria Kadantseva, CEO of MD Insight, the official service partner of Alibaba in Russia and the CIS, in 2023 there are already 7,000 Kazakhstani goods on the Chinese marketplace, and these figures are growing by an average of 20-25% per year.
Maxim Gubanov, head of Wilberries CIS, noted that the number of suppliers from Kazakhstan is also growing at Wildberries. During the first quarter of 2023, their number on the Wildberries marketplace increased by 7.5 times.
At the World of Trade Convention Madina Seisengaliyeva, commercial director of NielsenIQ Kazakhstan, delivered an analytical report on the FMCG market in Kazakhstan in 2023. According to her, 77% of Kazakh producers intend to raise prices for their goods. Most of the manufacturers surveyed want to increase the prices of their brands and products by up to 10%. At the same time 48% of the surveyed Kazakhstani buyers are already expecting price increases in the coming months, every fifth buyer expects a rise in prices for consumer goods by more than 20% in the next 3 months.
The knowledge gained at the World of Trade Convention helps suppliers, distributors and representatives of retail chains to develop effective business strategies, taking into account the latest market data.
At the end of the Eurasian Trade Congress, a Big Round Table was held between retailers and suppliers, which discussed the real problems of retail and possible solutions. All market participants had the opportunity to share their views on the situation on the FMCG market in Kazakhstan.
“The World of Trade Convention showed that there is a huge potential for the development of the trade industry, and that retailers and suppliers must continue to work closely in order to successfully develop their businesses,” said Elena Sargaldakova, organizer of the World of Trade Convention.
Video review
The next World Trade Convention will be held in Almaty on October 19-21, 2023.
The World of Trade Convention is organized by the international operator of business events in the retail industry EXIM EXPO (LLP BBCG Kazakhstan) and is supported by Atameken NCE RK, Chambers of Commerce and Industry of different countries and industry associations.
Co-organizers of the World Trade Conventions in all countries: information and analytical agency INFOLine, international company NLT Trade, consulting companies Trade Help and Retail Analytics, and other partners.
EXIM EXPO (BBCG Kazakhstan LLP) – is a long-term partner of more than 300 retailers from different countries, an accredited partner of the Russian Export Center, a consultant for the TPSP Initiative of the USAID Trade Program in Central Asia.
The World Trade Convention is a private and commercial event. Registration of participants on the site https://eximexpo.kz/.
Contacts of the Organizing Committee:
Mob/WhatsApp/Telegram +7 777 125 11 11, info@eximexpo.kz
