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How long has the Tissot brand been represented in Russia?
The history of Tissot in Russia started all the way back in 1866! Charles-Emile Tissot made his first trip to Russia that year. The purpose of the trip was to establish trade relations with the Russian Empire, and after just a few years, Russia became the main market for Tissot watches. It remained that way until 1917. By 1875, the Tissot trading house had produced a dozen pocket watches with a picture of Czar Alexander II and his son Alexander III.
In 1904, the company created special edition watches for officers of the Russian Imperial Guard. The dial featured a monogram of the guards with the inscription: “In the name of the officers of the Imperial Guard 1891-1904.” On the reverse side, the dial was engraved with the words of the Star Order, “Devoted to Faith.” The revolution of 1917 halted the sales of Tissot in Russia, and the Swiss brand was forced to leave the Russian market.
Then, in 1993, the doors to the Russian market swung open again for Tissot, and the company decided to return to the country that played such a significant role in its formation. Soon enough, in 2000, sales reached record levels, and Tissot became one of the major Swiss brands manufacturing watches in Russia.
How many Ducati motorcycles are sold across Russia?
This year, we expect sales to reach some 200 vehicles. The segment we operate in has been hit the hardest by the economic shocks of the recent years. Obviously, many potential buyers have pushed back – some even far back – into the background the cherished idea of buying this expensive Italian toy, while others have decided to have a closer look at the used motorcycle market. Some even resorted to “belt-tightening.” As a further complication, the range of Ducati motorcycles does not cover all classes that are in high demand, with the cross, cruiser and scooter models missing. I am nevertheless pleased to announce that retail sales quadrupled compared to the pre-crisis 2007 level driven by a few factors:
-the brand’s sustained popularity worldwide. It is difficult to find a modern Hollywood blockbuster where the hero would not be carried away from his hardships on a motorbike, it is even more difficult to find movies with any motorcycles other than Ducati. Meanwhile, Ducati is positioned as purely Italian: “Made in Italy” has remained the main slogan as far as design, promotion, and even the choice of riders for the Ducati MotoGP team are concerned.
- ongoing expansion of the model range. For four years now, Ducati has been presenting one or more models each fall – and here I mean only brand new and not just upgraded models…
- the ever improving quality of the products. Ducati motorbikes currently boast the longest service intervals on the market – 12,000 kilometers, with the maintenance interval for adjusting the desmodromic valve gear extended to 24,000 kilometers for the latest models. Additionally, Ducati provides a two-year unlimited mileage warranty on all new motorcycles.
Vladimir Chaikovsky, who is responsible for sales and marketing at BMW Motorrad Russia, has agreed to a question-and-answer session with Motonews.ru to fill us in on the latest developments in the BMW motorcycle business in Russia.
Vladimir, when we spoke in April 2010, you said that BMW planned to sell 600 motorcycles in Russia that year. Did you reach that target? And what are your expectations for this year? How many bikes did you sell, and how many are you planning to sell in 2011?
Artyom, it is a real pleasure for me to answer this question. We fulfilled our plans last year, and this year, it seems that the overall number of buyers of BMW motorcycles is much bigger than we imagined. Truth be told, we're already looking at a four-digit number. A few hundred motorcycles a year, after all, is an overly modest figure for a country as big as Russia.
As announced earlier, a new A-category racing track – Crimea Grand Prix Circuit – is being built in the Crimea, outside of the city of Yevpatoria. It will be 19th on the global list of racing tracks that can be used for international racing events: MotoGP, Formula 3, WTCC and Formula 1 tests.
The chief designer of the track is none other than Hermann Tilke, renowned for the construction of the best racing circuits. It’s fair to say he nearly dominates the sphere of designing and licensing racing tracks. The project makes use of the best practices used in constructing international racing circuits in Malaysia, Brazil, Spain, France, Portugal, Bahrain, China, and Japan.
General Director of Irbit Motorworks Ilya Khait fills Motonews.ru in on the global expansion of Ural motorbikes, its dynamics, and the profile of an average buyer of Russian motorcycles.
How many motorcycles are you selling in Russia, and how many are exported?
Before the crisis, we produced roughly 1,000 bikes a year. Over 95 percent of all Ural motorbikes are actually exported. Our main markets include the United States (50 percent of total sales), the European Union, Canada, Japan, and Australia. Last year, we sold 17 motorcycles in Russia. This year, since we’re seeing more demand in Russia, we expect to sell more here.
We’re essentially selling motorcycle combinations, and 80 percent of the total is motorcycles with a driven sidecar wheel.
Motonews.ru is pleased to present a series of short interviews with the Russian motorcycle market’s main players.
The editorial office of Motonews.ru had a number of questions for the spokesmen for Russian representative offices of BMW, Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, KTM, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Victory and other motorcycle manufacturers.
The questions touched upon, inter alia, motorcycle sales in Russia, customer profile, plans for the foreseeable future, grey dealers, not to mention an array of other interesting questions.
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