Russian media “Kommersant” reports that the Russian government, major retailers and Russian electronics manufacturers are discussing subsidies for retail chains to promote domestic electronics (laptops and tablets, etc.). Russian retailers say this should increase the awareness of Russian brands in the consumer space. There is a decent number of Russian notebooks and tablets in the Russian market. However, these products are not so popular. As the Russian government plans to popularize Russian notebooks and tablets, the brands need something else.
Most Russian brands stress that they need concessional loans to produce large volumes of products. They claim that their products can not yet compete with foreign products in price. According to a Kommersant source in the Russian government, the digital ministry, together with major Russian electronics manufacturers (Aquarius, Yadro, ICL) and retailers (M.Video, DNS), are discussing the establishment of a Russian equipment retailer possibilities, mainly tablets, laptops and system units. According to preliminary estimates, each year, the government will spend about 1 billion rubles ($17 million) on subsidies. An insider source said
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Russian notebooks and tablets are very expensive
“Large chains have expressed interest in selling Russian electronics, but they need state support to promote their brands. Consumers should at least be motivated to learn about domestic products.”
Russian notebooks and tablet manufacturers previously focused on producing equipment for businesses and the public sector. According to reports, sales of laptops assembled in Russia are difficult due to high prices. In the case of small-scale production, batches of several thousand pieces are unlikely to compete with well-known brands.
In June of this year, Denis Manturov, head of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that the Russian government approved a 500 million ruble “pilot model” allocation to support companies to advertise in the media. The Ministry of Industry and Trade told Kommersant that screening will be carried out from August 18 to September 29 and advertising will be subsidised through ANO “national priorities”. The department did not say whether ads for Russian notebooks and tablets fall into this category. However, it did say that only manufacturers can apply.
