As my first question, could
you give us some more information about the history of
Lastochka Plant?
The company Lastochka Plant was founded at the beginning
of this century, more precisely in 1913. At this time
it was a small plant and I bought the enterprise myself,
as it was bankrupt in 1998. I decided to rebuild the
company and at the very beginning only the walls where
in place and after a lot of work and effort the plant
is now up and running and working adequately and we
are ready to build a new water production plant. The
building itself will be bought in Korea, the equipment
will come from Italy and next year we will start the
construction itself.
What are the drinks that you are going to produce
or what brands will you try to develop in the near future?
We produce and will produce only water that will be
sold in different quantities and containers. Actually,
we also used to produce soft drinks or "pop"
for children and we decided to stop this production
because it was not profitable. Our water "Lastochka"
is distributed throughout the Far East, Primorsky Krai
Khabarovsk, Magadan and Kamchatka, and sold in Australia,
Korea and Japan. In the USA, the demand for Lastochka
water exists but our production rate at present is too
small to further expand within this market. Another
important potential market for us is to sell our non-gasified
water in South Korea where the water quality is "tasteless".
Could you give us some important figures concerning
your company? For example: production levels, internal
market growth, export and consumption?
We are trying to find the best way to transport our
water to Moscow and learn how to market it effectively.
We are currently working on a new bottle design, which
we will be launching shortly. Regarding company figures;
in 1999 when we started our production, we sold approximately
70,000 bottles. In August 2002, we sold 1,200,000 bottles.
You started production in Primorsky Krai, one of
the largest regions in the Russian Far East. Where do
you distribute exactly?
At present we distribute our water all over the Russian
Far East, including Yakutst, Magadan and Kamtchatka.
In Primorsky Krai our water represents 24% of the market
share.
Let us talk about your competitors. Who are your
largest competitors in the market, and what are your
competitive advantages? What makes you different?
There are more than 50 mineral water producers in Primorsky
Krai. If we take for example Moscow, the quality of
the water is not perfect there either. Demographically
we have an advantage as there is a huge community of
people from Vladivostok and the Russian Far East who
live and work in the capital so we will target them.
We will also market our water as pure and natural with
healing qualities as we have received accreditation
from the Russian Medical Institute that certifies that
our water is rich in calcium and minerals.
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What is your personal strategy and management philosophy
in order for your company to enter new markets?
We just do the contrary of our competitors! To be honest,
we are achieving quite good results! We are also visible
on the market, with important and effective regional
marketing campaigns. We support children's sport's teams
as for example football and regional dancing teams.
Our philosophy in our company is "just let's work
together" as one big family.
Are you looking for foreign investors?
We have only one main interest and that is to work with
foreign investors. For our first plant, we already have
the investors that we need. Regarding the new plant,
we are still negotiating conditions, but of course,
I hope that this interview will bring us more investors!
.
Could you give us some information regarding new
product development as well as the number of employees
working at your plant including also the type of production
levels that you are hoping to achieve?
We actually have 130 employees and regarding production
we certainly have future plans. Our main activity today
however is to develop a new product. This product will
be a little different in comparison with others. Of
course the water will maintain the same quality and
we will have different kinds of bottles, we will design
a sporty and modern image, which will also be more convenient
to carry. The design of this new product was ordered
from Japan, we will also do a very interesting publicity
campaign and we are preparing a television advertisement
in USA, because production rates are 30% cheaper there
in comparison with Moscow.
You have been working in the company for 5 years,
since 1998. What have been your biggest achievements?
The plant is located 500 kilometers from here in a
region with high unemployment rates. The region is very
poor, and cultural activities are under-developed. I
have showed the people of this region how it is possible
to work and live in a different way. They just need
to believe that a better life exists and this for me
is my biggest accomplishment.
As my last question, what would your message be
to all the consumers of your water?
We have a slogan: "There is health in every drop
of Lastochka water so discover this by drinking our
water, this is our message!
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