A meeting of the region's leadership with individual entrepreneurs took place in Vitebsk
Whatever the skeptics may claim, the light industry of our republic has learned to make stylish and high-quality products! At least, at the exhibition that preceded the final meeting, one could see the best samples of footwear, clothing, textiles, and carpets produced by leading enterprises of this industry in our region and other regions, practically on par with well-known European brands.
However, as specialists say, it is one thing to produce, and another to sell. Various factors come into play here, and as a result, excess inventory accumulates in warehouses, and the products that are sold generate revenue only a year and a half after the investment.
Can individual entrepreneurs, many of whom are currently painfully experiencing the transition to selling only certified products, help accelerate this process? And how are Belarusian manufacturers and authorities accommodating them?
Participants of the event sought answers to these questions both during the exhibition and at the meeting. Chairman of the regional executive committee Nikolai Sherstnev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Belarus – Chief Inspector for the Vitebsk Region Alexander Poznyak, Deputy Chairman of the regional executive committee Oleg Matskevich, First Deputy Chairman of the concern "Bellegprom" Vyacheslavirusin, showed keen interest in discussing the topic near the exhibition stands of both guests and hosts – employees of OJSC "Znamya Industrializatsii". The Director of the enterprise, Andrei Shamshura, said that last year the garment workers began to closely cooperate not only with Belarusian but also with Russian individual entrepreneurs; 18 people were involved in the sale of products and sold them for almost 800 million rubles. In 2016, it is planned to double, or even triple these results. Moreover, the manufacturer is ready to listen to and accept the wishes of sellers, provide discounts, give products for sale with partial prepayment, or even without it at all, sew products in small batches to order from individual entrepreneurs, and even using their materials.
The Director of OJSC "Vitebsktextiltorg" Stanislav Svirkovsky explained that the base currently accumulates and offers products from a dozen and a half Belarusian textile manufacturers. At the initial stage, the client receives goods with prepayment, and when the credit of trust increases, simply for sale. OJSC will not only form an order according to applications but also deliver it by its own transport. Entrepreneurs can also use these services.
The Chairman of the regional executive committee noted that Vitebsk region needs to create a universal database for collecting products from all light industry enterprises in the region and to develop a mechanism whereby unsold items would not be returned to the manufacturer, but would still find a buyer through a flexible system of discounts and markdowns. And he heard several valuable proposals from representatives of such a well-known children's clothing manufacturer as LLC "Belle Bimbo".
Speaking at the final meeting, Nikolai Nikolaevich, in particular, noted that in the current economic situation, the country's leadership and the government are focusing on the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the regions. This is the budget-forming stratum that independently solves issues of employment, salary payments, taxes, and does not create any problems for the state. In the region, 142,000 people are employed in the small and medium-sized business sector; they contribute 3.8 trillion rubles to the budget, and account for more than 15 percent of the total production volume. How can we not listen to them?
— We have repeatedly said that the authorities are obliged to find an initiative-taking person, to assist them in business development, to help, to create the most favorable conditions, — Nikolai Shershnev continued. — But sometimes people approach the authorities and do not find understanding. Then society loses those who could contribute to its prosperity. There are reserves for more effective support, for example, there are still a large number of vacant premises in the region, they should be more actively sold to small and medium-sized businesses at a symbolic price. Mandatory product certificationhas caused a mixed reaction in the business community. But the decision has been made, it is final. And the topic of our conversation today is not accidental, just like the meeting place. What would we like? We would like to understand that when things get difficult, people should unite. And the authorities are not distancing themselves from emerging problems. For example, what should those entrepreneurs do who, for various reasons, cannot organize their activities in a new way? So we decided to show you that there are a number of enterprises ready to produce a sufficient quantity of quality domestic products. Last year, we demanded that they create a system for selling clothing and footwear with the involvement of entrepreneurs. There are several options: you can get a job at the enterprise to sell products in your own retail outlet, or you can take goods without prepayment based on contracts. During the exhibition tour, I heard many valuable remarks. For example, representatives of OJSC "Znamya Industrializatsii" said that they lack working capital not burdened by high bank interest. I believe that the region should create a reserve fund with the help of the Union of Entrepreneurs, investors, and the regional executive committee, and finance key directions from it to move things forward.
The Chairman of the regional executive committee and other meeting participants listened to all the proposals, remarks, and questions from the audience and tried to provide comprehensive answers. And those problems that have not yet found their solution will be discussed by a working group consisting of representatives of business and government, which will be created in the near future.
Larisa Volkova. Photos by Oleg Klimovich. "Vitbichi".