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 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: levels of production,
internal market growth, and 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 are a company that 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 biggest 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 there
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 achieve 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 lets work together"
as one big family.
Are you looking for foreign investors or maybe
with the local cooperation for your expansion
plans?
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
the new product development as well as the number
of employees working at the plant, and the type
of production levels 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 more different
than the 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 a 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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