DEVELOPMENT OF NON-NETWORK SALES CHANNELS AND MULTI-FORMAT TRADE WILL INCREASE COMPETITION IN THE RETAIL MARKET

A Round Table was held on the topic Retail Trade Networks: Issues of Interaction and Education.During the event, the participants discussed the problems of small business access to the shelves of large retail chains.

The Round Table was held in the format of videoconference at the site of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Union of Meat Processors and the Association of Retail Companies took part in it. Nadezhda Sharavskaya, Head of the Department for Social Sphere, Trade and Non-productive Services announced the position of the FAS Russia at the meeting.

“In order to expand the sales channels of small business products and increase competition in retail markets, we consider it necessary to develop small formats of trade, non-network and multi-format trade, including non-stationary ones. This can lead to a reduction in the chain between producers and the final consumer, optimization and reduction of costs for the logistics component, which, ultimately, can have a positive effect on the formation of the cost of products and their quality,” the representative of the FAS Russia said.

Nadezhda Sharavskaya also noted that the Law on Trade¹ provides immunity for small businesses supplying food products, as well as wholesale and retail sellers, namely, they are not subject to the provisions of Articles 13 and 14 of the law.

According to her, currently, there is an increase in the economic concentration of the market, and this is an objective trend in all retail markets.

“As part of the control of economic concentration, we evaluate the shares of retail chains when making a transaction to decide to give consent to its implementation, to allow the transaction with behavioral or structural conditions, or to refuse if the analysis reveals that the declared transaction may lead to a restriction of competition. At the same time, we face difficulties in assessing shares because the trade registers formed in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation do not reflect the real picture of the presence of certain retail chains. We believe that the register needs to be preserved and developed, made more informative, and mandatory to improve the efficiency of government control and supervision in the retail sector. This will allow you to correctly calculate the shares of retail chains, to implement operational control over compliance with existing and introduced requirements, including compliance with Article 14 of the Law on Trade,” the Head of the Department for Social Sphere, Trade and Non-Productive Services of the FAS Russia added.

1 - Federal Law No. 381 – FZ of December 12, 2009 “On the Basics of State Regulation of Trade Activities in the Russian Federation”.