Svyaznoy and Euroset to face greater competition from regional consortium

Russian mobile phone retailers Svyaznoy and Euroset are set to face more intense competition from regional retail networks. Ten small companies, including Tsifrograd, Technolux, Technomarket and Banzai with a total of 620 stores in 15 Russian regions, have formed a consortium. The aim of the link-up is to negotiate more favourable terms with suppliers, vendors and mobile phone operators in order to be more competitive and keep up with major players like Svyaznoy and Euroset. 

A spokesman for Svyaznoy said: “We welcome this initiative as we believe it will have a positive impact on the further development of the mobile retail market.”

Ulyana Smolskaya, of Euroset’s public relations department, said: “The market share of these players is less than 1.5% and we don’t expect the market balance to change with that development.”