Interview with the Director of Marketing at Globex Ukraine Yevhenii Korshykov about the difficulties of doing business in the field of electronics in Ukraine.
Globex British company was established in 2008. At the same time it was opened an official representative office in Ukraine. Marketing Director Yevhenii Korshykov recognizes that entrance to the Ukrainian market was difficult and simple at the same time for Globex. But the right strategy has helped the company to successfully conquer the Ukrainian market with the help of high-quality automotive electronics. His position in the company Yevhenii has been taking for three years. During this time,both the company and the electronics market in the country suffered a stagnation in the sale of products, but Globex refused to lose sympathy of Ukrainian buyer, therefore undertook to carry out important changes in its policy. On how the company went to a dialogue with the consumer and why in Ukraine there are few leaders in the electronics market, Yevhenii Korshykov told in the interview for LDaily.
LDaily: The company Globex with the first days of formation has chosen its direction the electronics market of Eastern Europe. And this is a very risky move, given the unfavorable economic situation of the Ukrainians. What difficulties you had to face?
Y. Korshykov: West European and East European markets are absolutely different in the two market business processes. To win the Western European consumer, companies manage more easily, but not so on the Eastern consumers. Especially it concerns the electronics market. In Ukraine, Globex was faced with a crowded market of brands. It’s no the secret that despite the difficult economic situation in the country, the foreign electronics companies are successfully selling their wares in Ukraine. They bribe a consumer with the low price of the product. But keep silent, that in return the consumers will not receive a qualitative and functional product. Of course, the Ukrainian buyer rather pay attention to the value of the product than on its technical characteristics. Therefore Globex company in its Ukrainian representation is preferred to employ Ukrainians, who know the specifics of the mentality of its people. That is what helped her to win the consumer in Ukraine.
LDaily: What are the strategic decisions you had to make to achieve the leadership position in the electronics market in Ukraine?
Y. Korshykov: We have chosen the most difficult path. We decided not to release to the market a lot of useless products. So we made contacts with the consumer and asked what he would buy with pleasure. We had a social project called “The product that I created with Globex”. It has operated from that time. The first product released to the market in July 2016 became an e-book. And almost in two months, our goods have taken 12% of the market of electronic books in Ukraine. After analyzing the results, we concluded that in order to sell our products, we should take into account the needs and possibilities of the customer.
LDaily: Do you have many competitors on the Ukrainian market of electronics? How often do you compete with them for leadership positions?
Y. Korshykov: There are many firms-manufacturers of automotive electronics (where we are more specialized) in Ukraine. This segment of the market is very promising and it is invested much money in its development. I can say that we have plenty of competitors. But it is not always possible to become a leader for them. The reason for this is a reckless management and economic decisions. As a result, they spend money and time, but eventually can do not earn from selling their products, or to go into minus.
LDaily: In addition to the dialogue with the customer, what other methods do you use for the positive promotion of your products?
Y. Korshykov: For us, one of the main points in the management of the company is to analyze our mistakes. I will not hide that we make mistakes, and it happens often. But this is a normal process, so we learn. We are experimenting in one direction or another, to understand in what we are stronger than our competitors, or vice versa.
LDaily: Your company has not been for the first year on the electronics market. In your opinion, where is it easier to do business in this segment of the market: in Europe, which have already formed their own principles, or in Ukraine – a young and developing country?
Y. Korshykov: The process of doing business in Europe is more transparent than in Ukraine. But given the small number of brands in our market, it is easier to lead business in our country. In spite of this, the western market receives new products more readily than Ukrainian. There is another side of the coin. Any brand in the European market is facing huge competition. In consequence, the process of the sale of goods and winning the confidence of the European consumer passes much more difficult because of the high competition. Our colleagues have created, by the way Ukrainian StartUP, high-quality product, which is required specifically by Western market. But before them there was a problem in the winning a buyer, which has a large variety of similar products. Our so-called “poor” market is much more attractive in the sense that it is easier to win the customer.
LDaily: Tell us about the main values of the company Globex?
Y. Korshykov: The company’s corporate value, of course is people. Thanks to this the staff of Globex Ukrainian representative office has not changed for years. We do not have the concept of “staff turnover”. We value our employees and their time and work on the result. At the same time we have loyal terms of cooperation, for example, our content manager does not work in the office, but in a convenient place for him. We follow the rules: no matter where you’re doing the work, it is important – how you do it. With the development of technology and social networks doing business considerably simplified. And we, as a company for the production of electronics, keep up with this time.
