The history of the development of the retail trade network. History of retail

Story retail

After a certain development and formation of the rudiments of the intra-communal market, as well as a significant development of natural merchants, the question arises before the merchants further development his trade. And the most important question for the development of the merchants of that time was how to accelerate merchant cycle process. If the increase in the volume of its activities was mainly due to the increasing involvement of its own products for these purposes and food loans from usurers. That significant acceleration of the merchant cycle, on which the efficiency of this activity also depended, could not be obtained with the help of loans alone. It was then that internal trade as such began to emerge and rapidly develop. If the initial merchant class combined the functions of both wholesale and retail trade, then the domestic trade of that time developed primarily as a retail trade.

Before the advent of the merchant class, natural exchanges were rare and were mostly random. With the advent of the merchant class and the constant delivery by merchants of "overseas" goods to the domestic market, retail exchanges within the communities began to develop. But the merchants were not very interested in retail trade, since it took a lot of time to exchange imported goods for local products, and this is a big loss of time, and hence income. At that time, the merchant cycle took a long time.

In an effort to increase one of the most important economic indicators- the turnover of their products during exchanges, merchants began to hire retailers, or exchange your product in large quantities with enough major manufacturers or sellers who themselves sold their goods on the domestic market and were not averse to selling the goods brought by merchants. Of course, local producers also engaged in such sales on certain favorable terms for themselves. From now on and retail history began.

Merchants, as a rule, were the heads of their large patriarchal families, and therefore they often forced their family members to engage in retail trade. Such steps led to a noticeable increase in the rate of product exchange. The merchant no longer spent much time on “retail” exchanges with everyone who wanted to exchange with him, but, having exchanged large quantities of products with large manufacturers or leaving his imported product to “his retailers”, he quickly resumed his journey for a new batch of product, significantly reducing merchant cycle time.

As time went on, retail trade developed more and more, both with the help of merchants and with the help of local manufacturers, who began to specialize in the production of certain goods that were in demand both on the domestic market and among merchants. With the advent of first an intermediary product, which then turned into an intermediary product, retail trade accelerated its development, becoming an increasingly independent part of trade. Having gained a certain strength, retail trade finally separated from the merchant class.. So the merchant class was divided into wholesale and retail trade. By itself, the merchant class left itself basically the function of a wholesale trader. Retailers followed the path of the merchants, acquiring the specialty of a professional merchant. But since at that time their activities did not stand out in any way from the point of view of the buyer, they simply began to be called merchants, and often all the same merchants.

Developing and becoming larger, many retailers had more than one shop, more than one place of sale, even in one bazaar. A number of retailers had their own points of sale in different communities. All this made it possible over time and retailers become as rich as merchants.

With the advent and then the rapid development of retail trade, the economy took another big step in its development, in the development of primitive society as a whole, as it contributed to the rapid growth of social labor productivity. The history of the emergence of retail trade has become a further natural development of metabolic processes.

The first retail chains (network retail) began to appear in the 15th-16th centuries in Germany. The wealthy shopkeepers who sold meat, expanding their trade, open a network of meat trading shops selling the same type of assortment, under a single sign.

This business development model was fundamentally different from the models widely practiced in those years and later:

• expanding the range of goods sold in one place and offered by a retail outlet;
• purchase and development of unrelated or complementary businesses.

The rapid development of retail, in fact, began in the first half of the twentieth century, when the barrier between the consumer and the product disappeared. Before that, all world trade was carried out exclusively "over the counter", and the current variety of formats was represented only by small shops and bazaars.

Since 1901, the drugstore chain Walgreens, founded by Charles R. Walgreen Sr., has been writing its history from a pharmacy in Chicago, Illinois. By 1913, the network already consisted of 5 pharmacies.

The first two stores with direct access to the goods were opened independently of each other in 1912 in California. Around the same time, a chain of six stores called Humpty Dumpty Stories, owned by the Bay Cities Merchantile Co., began operating.

The first, a supermarket, in the modern sense of retail technology, which laid the foundation for chain retail, opened in 1916. The beginning of a new, at that time, technology of network retail was laid by an entrepreneur from Memphis, Clarence Saunders. The Piggly Wiggly supermarket chain he created, seven years after the opening of the first supermarket, consisted of 2,800 stores.

Marketing specialists usually associate the emergence of self-service with the "Great Depression" that broke out in the United States and it is customary to date it to 1929. Then the merchants of Cincinnati, in order to reduce the prices of products for the poor, decided to minimize the costs of organizing the trade itself. The goods were laid out on the shelves, and the staff of sellers was reduced, leaving only one or two at the exit of the store.

The official date of birth of the mass-market chain retail industry based on self-service technology is considered to be 1930, when King Kullen opened a store in New York that became the prototype of the modern supermarket. Further, the process took on an avalanche-like character; by the end of the 30s, there were already several thousand self-service outlets in the country.

In 1957, in France, near the city of Annecy in eastern France, at a crossroads, the first store of the Carrefour SA chain (French crossroads, pronounced Carrefour) opened. However, in the 50s, the technology of reaching the general population and the priority of "traffic" over the profitability of each check became dominant only in the United States. Western European post-war network retail was built on the predominance of independent stores united in small chains. In countries such as Italy, Germany or the UK, the technology of network retail focused on consumer "traffic" has not taken root. There, retail continues to develop mainly according to the old principle of “flow” trade - stores are mainly based in the center of the movement of buyers from nearby areas.

In the mid-70s, in France, for the first time, goods under the private label of these stores (STM, private label) appeared in retail chains. The Carrefour retail chain has become a pioneer in the creation of private labels. The experience of the French was so successful that private labels quickly gained popularity in other countries. Now the range of European chain stores on average 30% consists of products under their own trademarks. At the same time, it is not uncommon for such brands to occupy 80-90% of the turnover, and individual retailers, for example, the British network Marks & Spencer, sell goods only under their own brands.

In the 1980s, chain retail began to dominate the market retail sales consumer goods. A few years later, Dutch retail felt the "dead grip" of the Albert chain, the British one was under the power of Tesco (now its annual profit before taxes reaches a billion pounds), in Germany it began to assert itself metro network. French retailers in the early 80s tried to move their "traffic" to the United States. But Carrefour, Auchan, and Leclerc soon became convinced that it was useless and left America.

The end of the 20th century was marked by a large-scale offensive by large European network retailers in Eastern Europe and Latin America. At the same time, the first domestic chain retailers Perekrestok (1995), Azbuka Vkusa (1997), Pyaterochka (1999) appeared in Russia.

In the post-Soviet Russian economy, many new institutions have emerged and developed, borrowed from developed market countries: these include corporations, business unions, stock exchanges, commercial banks, and much more. Against this background, the greatest dynamics and development was demonstrated by network forms food retail organizations that emerged in the mid-1990s. By now, we can already talk about some history of these phenomena, which, however, has not yet been adequately reflected in the national literature. economic theory and in economic history.

The sources of information on this issue are mainly journalistic publications of a news or analytical nature that track the current situation in the consumer market, as well as specialized materials posted on the Internet. Against the background of great interest in the history of pre-revolutionary domestic entrepreneurship, ignoring recent history market processes and phenomena can hardly be considered justified.

Trade retail networks have become a natural result of the transition to market economy. In the West, their formation was built gradually as the forms and methods of trade improved. The mass distribution of chains took place only in the middle of the 20th century, while separate formats of self-service stores appeared in earlier periods.

The most important principles of retail chains were born in the USA in the process of the emergence of the future legendary Woolworth empire. In 1879, a revolution took place in retail - the first self-service store for economy class was founded, where for the first time there was no counter. The goods were located right on the trading floor, there were not even consultants. However, there was another innovation - a discount - goods were sold at low prices. fixed prices. After 20 years, a colossal network was formed with 631 stores in the USA and Canada, and after another 10 years, the Woolworth network consisted of over 1000 stores [Boguslavsky I. American success: people and symbols - M .: Alpina Business Books, 2004 - S. 42- 51; Benyumov K. Business on the shelf // Kommersant-Vlast, 2009, No. 5]. It was only during the current crisis in January 2009 (after 130 years of existence!) that the Woolworth network suffered significantly, although its potential entry into the Russian market until recently plunged its participants into a state of slight panic.

The idea of ​​creating self-service grocery stores also first appeared in the United States in 1916. It happened in Memphis, where, under the sign of Piggly Wiggly, Clarence Saunders first began selling groceries in a supermarket format. For that time, it was also an innovative idea, which, however, quickly won recognition and received innovative development. For example, in 1937 carts appeared in food supermarkets [Beeven J. Wars of supermarkets. - M.: Eksmo, 2008. - S. 19].

Only after the Second World War did the idea of ​​supermarkets migrate to the European continent. So, in Britain, the American experience of new forms of trading practices. To this end, as part of a publicly funded initiative to train English businessmen modern technologies Alan Sainsbury and Jack Cohen (the future founder of Tesco) went overseas. The first supermarket of the future largest network Sainsbury appeared in 1950 in Croydon on the basis of a very venerable age of the company, founded in 1869 as a dairy store. The future British retail giant Tesko also started with a single store in the East End of London in 1920 [Beeven J. Decree. op. - S. 18].

The origin of Russian networks grocery stores refers to the mid 1990s. It was then that the first retail chains appeared, which to this day are the largest on the market: Perekrestok (1995), The Seventh Continent (1994), Dixy (1993), Lenta (1993), Victoria (1993), Maria Ra (1993) and etc. In addition to federal retailers, there were also regional chains. At the same time, this list already contains a significant territorial spread: Victoria - Kaliningrad, Maria Ra - Barnaul, Korzinka - Lipetsk [Information from the official websites of the companies].

The emergence of chain supermarkets has become a significant event in the Russian consumer market. Development proceeded rapidly. If in the West the birth of grocery chains was primarily associated with new form self-service stores, the very idea of ​​self-service was familiar to Russia. Another thing is the variety of assortment, the quality of goods and services that were inaccessible and unfamiliar to the mass Soviet consumer. In the 1990s a significant part of the population used wholesale and small wholesale food markets. Supermarkets showcased new lifestyles, Sunday grocery shopping and related products often turned into a kind of excursion program and entertainment for the whole family. During that period network trading mainly concentrated in the capital cities, but even here they occupied a very small share in the total turnover: in 1997 - only 1.7% [Mentyukova S., Kanunnikov S. Consumer stores // Kommersant-Dengi, 2001, No. 4 //www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=136370&print=true].

The crisis phenomena of the late 1990s, associated with the default, had little effect on the decrease in the turnover of supermarkets, but gave a new impetus to their development. According to Kommersant-Dengi, the 1998 crisis even had a beneficial effect on the development of domestic chains, since it gave them the opportunity to get stronger before the arrival of Western competitors. At first, there was a decrease in the share of supermarkets to less than 1%, despite the fact that new grocery chains appeared on the market: Kopeyka, Azbuka Vkusa, Bin, and others. But already from 1999 to 2000, retail turnover in Moscow gave an increase of 69% [Sergeev A.V., Tikhonravov V.M. Supermarket, hypermarket... and a supermarket next to the House //Marketing in Russia and abroad, 2001, No. 4 //www.cfin.ru/press/markening/2001-4/10.shtml]. At the same time, in Poland the share of supermarkets was 18%, in Brazil - 36%. In 1999, the level of turnover of all Moscow supermarkets was about 12% of the sales volume in wholesale and small wholesale food markets (600 million dollars against 5 billion dollars), while 30-35% accounted for the leaders. The actions of the Moscow authorities to close the markets had a significant impact on their growth. In 2000, the leaders of the capital's trade: "Ramstore", "Seventh Continent" and "Perekrestok" gave an increase in turnover: by 130 million dollars, by 70% (from 70 million dollars) and by 54% (up to 150 million dollars). . dollars), respectively, compared with the level of 1999 [Mentyukova S., Kanunnikov S. Consumer stores // Kommersant-Dengi, 2001, No. 4 // www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=136370&print=true ].

In the early 2000s, the networks continued their development, both due to the expansion of leaders and the emergence of new domestic groups, and due to the arrival of Western sales representatives with a solid reputation. These are, first of all, the networks of Groupe Auchan SA (founded in 1961, France, Lille), Metro AG (1964, Germany, Dusseldorf), Billa (1953, Austria, Wiener Neudorf) that have almost half a century of history . At the same time, Metro occupied a special place here, since the company positioned itself in the food market mainly as a small wholesale trade enterprise. "Auchan" and "Billa" defined the market geographically rather broadly, extending it to the regions of Central Russia ("Billa") and even European Russia ("Auchan") with the inclusion of St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, the North Caucasus [Official websites of the companies].

For 2001 according to marketing agency ACNielsen the Russian supermarket chain has grown by 50%, and the turnover has almost doubled, still concentrating in the capital cities [Godunova M. How networks are woven in retail // Economics of Russia: XXI century 2002, No. 8 //www.ruseconomy.ru /nomer8_200207/ec17.html]. In the first half of 2001, there were about 10,000 stores in Moscow; in addition, 174 small-scale wholesale markets continued to operate. According to the Moscow Government, 62% of the capital's residents with low and middle incomes continued to make purchases not in stores, but in small wholesale markets. In total, the share of markets in the supply of Muscovites by different groups goods ranged from 20 to 50%. Among trading enterprises, 90% of the turnover took place through independent stores and only 10% - through retail chains [Sergeev A.V., Tikhonravov V.M. Supermarket, hypermarket... and a supermarket next to the House //Marketing in Russia and abroad, 2001, No. 4 //www.cfin.ru/press/markening/2001-4/10.shtml]. However, by the middle of the first decade of the XXI century. the development of modern forms of trade has accelerated significantly. By 2006, compared to 2003, the share of retail chains increased by almost two and a half times and amounted to 25% of the total volume of retail trade. At the same time, large retailers showed the greatest dynamism: in 2006, Pyaterochka showed an increase of more than 40% over the year, the Magnit network - by more than 50%.

Since the early 2000s active promotion of metropolitan retailers to the regions began. The main objects of their interest were large cities: Yekaterinburg, Samara, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod. At that time, Western companies were still weakly working in this direction. Such chains as "Pyaterochka", "Kopeyka", "Dixie", "Lenta" actively expanded their representation in St. Petersburg. There has been a counter expansion and the exit of some regional networks to the federal level ("Monetka", "Victoria"). Note that "Victoria", along with "Tape" and "Kopeyka", entered the first hundred Forbes rating 200 largest private companies in Russia 2007.

During this period, serious changes began to take place in the organization of forms of service and the transition to multi-format networks. In retail stores, traditional counter stores and self-service stores are usually distinguished, which are conventionally divided into minimarkets (bentams) (90-300 sq.m), supermarkets and supermarkets (400-2000 sq.m) and hypermarkets (over 3000 sq.m) . In terms of pricing and assortment policy, as a rule, a "classic" supermarket, an "economical" supermarket, a "soft" discounter, a "classic" discounter are considered. The store format is most clearly represented in chains where the marketing policy is most clearly formulated. So, initially, the "classic" supermarkets included the shops of the Trade House "Perekryostok", "The Seventh Continent", "Bin": they were characterized by high quality goods, a large assortment (5000-12000 items), relatively high prices and a good level of service. The "economy" supermarket format was best matched by the "Ramstore" chain supermarkets, where prices were usually lower than in the "classic" ones. Mini-Perekrestok and Kopeyka positioned themselves as "soft" discounters. Their main principles are a limited range of goods from the best-selling brands (1500-2000 items), a simplified display of goods, a minimum of staff and low prices. As an example of a "classic" discounter of a general profile, one can still consider the Avoska supermarket of the Proviant chain. The Azbuka Vkusa chain has positioned itself as a premium-class store from the very beginning. In 2000, it begins to actively develop new format shops - supermarkets "bentam" or "shop at home". These are relatively small shops, located closer to the consumer than supermarkets, with a relatively smaller range of goods (up to 4000 items) were designed to provide high quality service [Sergeev A.V., Tikhonravov V.M. Supermarket, hypermarket... and a supermarket next to the House //Marketing in Russia and abroad, 2001, No. 4 //www.cfin.ru/press/markening/2001-4/10.shtml].

However, as the development progressed, a trend towards a transition to multi-formatness emerged, acting in several directions at once. Thus, the Auchan company, which positioned itself as a "classic" supermarket, simultaneously moved towards hypermarkets and discounters operating under the Atak brand. The Dixy chain, initially representing a discounter chain, has begun to create stores of other formats: supermarkets and hypermarkets. This transition was facilitated by mergers and acquisitions occurring as competition intensified in the market. Founded in 2006, the X5 Retail Group holding expressed this trend to the greatest extent, simultaneously developing a network of "economical" supermarkets of the Pyaterochka chain, but also supermarkets and hypermarkets of Perekrestok. Seventh Continent, a member of the X5 Retail Group, showed the greatest changes, abandoning the originally accepted format of the "classic" supermarket and acting in three formats at once: a supermarket, a hypermarket and a convenience store. "Metro Group Russia", initially focused on corporate clients, began to open a network of hypermarkets in the "Real" project, and "Lenta" - a network of "convenience stores" [Multi-format is a factor in the efficiency of retail chains // Yarmarka.net]. In addition, there has been a notable increase in efforts to reach various categories customers, introducing new brands to the market. retail store service

Such changes were the result of increased competition in the network food market. The arrival of Western companies with significant experience and financial capabilities on the Russian market created a serious threat to domestic networks. Their expansion was accompanied by dumping due to high turnover, low trade margins and large purchases from suppliers. This was also facilitated by a flexible system of discounts, a high level of technical equipment, advanced marketing technologies, attracting the best specialists due to a higher level of remuneration, and focus on corporate clients. Of course, they had problems with the underdevelopment of domestic legislative framework, lack of transport infrastructure, etc. But at the same time, the sales volumes of Russian and Western companies were incomparable in terms of volume: Auchan and AVA's turnover in 2000 was 22.5 billion dollars and 10.3 billion marks, respectively, while the turnover of Seventh Continent was 2000 reached only about 120 million dollars [Godunova M. How networks are woven in retail // Economics of Russia: XXI century 2002, No. 8 // www.ruseconomy.ru/nomer8_200207/ec17.html].

In addition to the fact that increased competition has forced Russian retailers to resort to a number of measures aimed at improving internal organization began to carry out the first efforts towards the consolidation and institutionalization of the Russian trading business, as well as the movement to develop regional markets.

So, at the end of 2001, the association of supermarkets "Stolitsa" appeared, which included 11 supermarkets and a number of other stores, with the aim of consolidating purchases in order to obtain more favorable conditions from suppliers. In 2001, the Russian Retail Alliance (RRA) was created, bringing together large retail chains: Perekrestok, Kopeyka, Dixy, Megamart, whose task was to protect national trading companies. Almost at the same time, the Association of Wholesale and Retail Companies (AKORT) was created, pursuing, in fact, lobbying goals - "participation in tax and regulatory regulation, developing a policy of behavior in relation to foreign companies". In 2001, the Six Sevens alliance was created, which included Seventh Continent, SportMaster, Starik Hottabych, ArbatPrestige, M.Video, AutoKey car dealerships, MVO-Holding car centers ". The Alliance sought to unite networks "to combat spontaneous markets, to conduct a joint marketing and advertising policy of companies selling various groups of goods, for the joint construction and rental of retail space" [Godunova M. Decree. article]. It cannot be said that the goals set were achieved. Undoubtedly, the most significant event was the already mentioned merger of a number of market participants into the X5 Retail holding, carried out under the auspices of Alfa Group.

I must say that this situation turned out to be quite comparable with the trends in the development of European networks. Thus, the well-known researcher of supermarket chains J. Beaven, noting certain transformations of the 2000s, writes that since 1999, the consolidation of networks has radically changed the dynamics of food retail trade: at the same time, there was an increase in the sale of non-food products; if earlier attention was focused on the hypermarkets of the city outskirts, then in the 2000s. networks began to create small stores in the central areas of cities and develop new places of trade - on petrol stations, the movement to buy up enterprises for the production of semi-finished products intensified, more and more often identical goods began to appear on the shelves of different networks [Beeven J. Wars of supermarkets. - M.: Eksmo, 2008. - S. 12-13].

Similar phenomena are observed in network strategies Russian companies intensified during the current crisis. In 2009, the main task of retail chains was to reduce costs. There was a reorientation from the construction of hypermarkets on the outskirts of large cities to the format of "convenience stores". There was also an increase in the sale of non-food products, an increase in interest in discounter networks, an expansion in the supply of products under their own trademarks. Cost optimization objectives limit high logistics costs, lack of transport infrastructure. The tasks of developing the transport fleet and logistics are singled out as a key direction for the development of business processes in the coming years. Another one from possible solutions- reorientation of purchases to local suppliers, which can partly reduce logistics costs [Food retail: competitive analysis and leadership strategies. Top 10 // Retail.ru]. In the context of declining consumer demand, a significant part of buyers has been reoriented to stores of a more democratic format, and the greatest efficiency showed sustainable discounters, "classic" supermarkets stepped up work on the distribution of discount cards, sales campaigns and other forms of "struggle for the consumer's wallet." The most dramatic impact of the crisis was on the Mosmart network, which began to experience serious problems with the repayment of loans since the autumn of 2008. Attempts to save money on the closure of the Mosmartiki project (the "convenience stores" format, and more than 50 of them were closed in total) did not give the expected results. By the summer of 2009, food supplies to the chain's supermarkets had ceased. In June 2009 Sberbank of Russia, its 100% subsidiary Sberbank Capital LLC, Cypriot company Samatus Trading Limited and Bacarella Holdings Corporation have agreed to cooperate on the reorganization of the Mosmart group of companies, for which additional financing was provided to restructure credit debt and restart the network [Ismailov R. Mosmart: There is still a lot to be to do, but the company has already come out of a coma // www.retail.ru/interviews/41192].

The rapid development of retail chains, and now they already provide 35% of retail turnover (in the US - 90%), require increased regulation of their activities [Dmitriev M., Yurtaev A. Law on Trade: Death of Competition //Vedomosti. 12/17/2009 //www/vedomosti.ru/newspaper/article/2009/12/17/221617]. This is an objective process that is taking place in other countries as well. The activities of the government commission on competition in the retail food market in Britain, whose activities also intensified in the 2000s, are described by the already mentioned J. Beaven [Beaven J. Supermarket Wars. - S. 14-15]. Fighting unfair competition and monopoly, control over the quality of goods and prices, regulation of relations with suppliers - all these issues are reflected in the draft law "On the Fundamentals state regulation trading activities in Russian Federation", which is currently under consideration in the State Duma. It is planned to establish a 25% quota for sales by retail chain enterprises within the municipality, regulate trade margins, ban too long payment delays, too large wholesale discounts, etc. Of course, the future law has both opponents and supporters.It remains to be hoped that the regulation of the trading activities of enterprises, including retail chains, will contribute to the development of civilized relations in this important area of ​​the economy.

The history of retail trade goes back to the deep past. Since the dawn of material relations, people have been exchanging goods and services. In Russia, in the pre-revolutionary period, retail trade was well developed. There is information that, for example, in Chelyabinsk in 1913 English bicycles of 1912 models were sold. There were three guilds of merchants: the turnover of the merchant of the 3rd guild did not exceed 5 thousand rubles a year, the turnover of the merchant of the 2nd guild did not exceed 100 thousand rubles a year, the merchant of the 1st guild (the richest) traded at least 100 thousand rubles a year .

The economic basis of retail trade is the trade margin (margin). The trade margin is the difference between the purchase and sale price. The trade margin is the main income of a retail enterprise; as a rule, in the food trade it does not exceed 25--30%, and, for example, in the clothing retail trade it can reach up to 200%. From the received trade margin, the trader pays current expenses, such as: rent of premises, wages of employees, security, telephone, cleaning, etc., the profit of the trade enterprise is formed from the remaining funds. It ranges from 1-3% in large food retail chains to 20-30% and even 50% in non-food retail.

But the trade margin is not the only source of income for retailers. Retail also earns by placing ads, holding promotional events, selling retail space and shelf space. In order for the goods (this is typical for food trade) to be sold in any of the networks in Russia, it is necessary to pay a special “bonus for entering the network”. Thus, the operators of this market increase the profitability of their business.

Modern methods of selling goods and their role in improving the level of public service

Any trading service should be convenient for buyers and profitable for those who provide it. Only then will it become widespread. The provision of a wide range of quality services in stores contributes to the growth of turnover, and, consequently, has a positive effect on the profitability of enterprises.

It should be noted that the set and quality of services depend on the type of specialization, the location of the store, the conditions for the provision of quality services, and the qualifications of employees.

AT modern conditions the development of all types of services should be profitable for entrepreneurs and convenient for consumers. At the same time, all types of services that contribute to the growth of trade turnover, turnover, profitability receive appropriate development with the growth of household incomes.

Trade services appear that were previously unknown to our consumers, for example: taking orders over the Internet for the delivery of groceries and hot snacks at any time.

Progressive phenomena in trade, brought to life by the intensification of market processes, the growing demands of buyers for culture and quality of service, are becoming more and more noticeable. It should be understood that along with the preservation of services known in trade, it should be widely distributed previously unknown to our consumer.

Chapter 1. Theoretical foundations of the composition and development of the trading network in the Russian Federation.

Retailing is a broader concept than just the sale of goods, since it is accompanied by services - financial, hairdressing, payment for services. mobile communications, dry-cleaning of clothes, delivery of goods. The term "retailer" (retailing) - retail trade - comes from the old French word "retailer", meaning "part of something", "cut something into pieces". That is, the retailer divides a large quantity of goods into small portions for sale to consumers.

For the last seven years, retail has been one of the fastest growing industries Russian economy. In 2003, Russia entered the top three consumer markets developing countries that are attractive to international trading networks. A massive entry of foreign firms into our market was expected in 2004-2005. However, since December 11, 2004, the Chinese government, fulfilling its obligations assumed in 2001 when joining the WTO, allowed foreign companies to open any number of supermarkets with 100% foreign ownership. The opening of such large-scale markets drew many retailers to themselves and pushed back plans for the development of Russia.

Despite the fact that in 2005 a third of all foreign direct investment in Russia came into trade (less than a quarter into the extractive industry), foreign retailers did not occupy an overwhelming position on Russian market. Domestic companies still have chances for independent development and retention of national control over the retail market.

Stages of development of retail trade in Russia.

Until the 1960s, trade was not paid much attention. The situation has changed with the increase in its apparent importance in the economies of developed countries, with the growth of its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP). Thus, in the United States, after the removal of legislative restrictions on monopolies, the era of the WalMart hypermarket began, which was founded in 1962, rapidly captured half of the American market and began transnational expansion. Hypermarkets have taken over the world.

In the USSR, the first large department store - "Frunzensky" - was opened in Leningrad on September 3, 1970 as a self-service store. Prior to that, trade was practiced exclusively through the counter. On 370 meters of counters - "hills" equipped with refrigeration units, the products were in the public domain, the area trading floor was 1200 sq. m, there were 15 cash registers latest design, Italian and American equipment - all this made it possible to serve up to 17 thousand customers per day. By 1980 there were 30 supermarkets in Leningrad.

Another format is a department store ( non-grocery goods). In Moscow, these were GUM, TSUM, Pervomaisky, Krasnopresnensky, etc. To date, only a few department stores do not rent out their space. The rest turned into shopping centers consisting of many independent shops. The USSR also developed specialized stores: « Child's world"," Sports goods ". Successfully worked "Posyltorg". Soviet trade collapsed along with the collapse of the system that created it.

In the 1990s, the development of modern retail in Russia repeated the experience Western countries 1960s. There, as retailers realized the need to promote their own brands, industry consolidation accelerated. But the Western countries took about 40 years to achieve this (we are less than 20), it took another 30 years to achieve the maximum concentration. Now in Germany, the 5 largest retail operators control 65% of the market, in the UK 4 chains - more than 70%, in France 5 largest networks- 85%, in Denmark the two leading chains - 60%. In Russia in 2007, the share of modern formats in food retail trade was only 32.6%, and the share of the top five largest companies- around 5%.

Food retailing remains largely a national or even local industry. Only about 10% of the global retail market is occupied by transnational corporations.

Until November 1, 1990, the dollar in the USSR officially cost 63 kopecks, although citizens and commercial organizations could not buy it at this price. In April 1991, at the first market auction, 32.35 rubles were given for the dollar, on January 3, 1992 - 150 rubles, and on December 24, 1992 - already 414.5 rubles. The fall of the ruble reflected the most severe financial crisis, which led to the collapse of the USSR, the former Soviet republics had to rebuild the market economy.

The arrival of a new life for the Russians was marked by the liberalization of consumer prices, which was carried out on January 2, 1992, according to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On measures to liberalize prices" dated December 3, 1991 No. 297. As a result, 90% of retail and 80% wholesale prices was exempted from state regulation, with the exception of the most socially significant consumer goods and services (bread, milk, public transport and etc.).

Prices in stores grew inexorably, according to experts: in 1991 - by 160%, in 1992 - already by 2500%. Inflation destroyed the savings of the population, left enterprises without working capital. In addition, the collapse of the USSR led to the rupture of many economic relations. There were difficulties both with raw materials and with the sale of products. Payment delays have become the norm. wages. Hidden unemployment appeared, when enterprises did not fire workers, but sent them on unpaid leave. People were forced to look for odd jobs.

The desire of the government to curb inflation ran into a huge state budget deficit, which could only be covered by the issue of money. The Central Bank issued cheap loans to enterprises in huge volumes. With the right to issue non-cash rubles, the central banks of other former Soviet republics actively lend to their governments and enterprises. The inflation generated by such emission was imported into Russia.

The situation was aggravated by the fact that not yet privatized state enterprises they simply did not know how to trade in a free market, did not respond to changes in market demand. Out of habit, their directors waited for government subsidies. The structure of the Russian economy, inherited from the USSR, had monstrous distortions towards the production of means of production and military equipment. And small business, relatively recently legalized, was in its infancy.

Market reforms were initiated at the federal level, while price controls were traditionally exercised at the local level. In many cases, local authorities have tried to maintain this control despite the government's refusal to provide subsidies to such regions. Using what is land, buildings and public utilities still remained in the hands of the state, they put pressure on privatized stores, forbade the export of food to other areas.

In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On Freedom of Trade" dated January 29, 1992, enterprises and citizens were granted the right to engage in trade, intermediary and procurement activities (including for cash) without special permits, with the exception of trade in weapons, ammunition, medicines and etc. Customs payments for goods imported into Russia were abolished. Initially, trade was allowed in any convenient places, except for roadways, metro stations and government buildings, but after six months it was limited to "places designated by executive authorities."

The country was divided into sellers and buyers. In the minds of the people, the concepts of “speculation” and “fartsovka” were legalized, for which, under the Soviet regime, one could go to jail. Many, despite the acute hostility to the "traders", went into trade - out of hopelessness, because there was nowhere to work, and they had to feed their families.

The "Iron Curtain" fell, and our fellow citizens realized how poor they live compared to the population of Western countries. They were eager to quickly satisfy the commodity hunger that tormented people in the conditions of total shortages in the 1980s. Everything was swept off the shelves. There were small wholesale, clothing and food retail markets where you can buy almost everything. In 1994, a place at an open clothing market in Moscow cost $10–30 a day, a turnover of one outlet averaged 17.5 thousand dollars per month, in the regions - about 7 thousand. The mark-up did not fall below 100-200%.

Commercial tents (“lumps”) flourished with an area of ​​​​3x4 meters with an assortment from ballpoint pens to household appliances and flowers. They were placed in any free places in areas of maximum human flow. And the shelves of state stores, accustomed to the distribution system, remained mostly empty or the assortment in them was very poor.

Prices rose, but the population had money. The market demanded commodity content. And only a quick turnover was able to bring novice capitalists start-up capital. For many now successful entrepreneurs the experience and connections of those times determined the format of their future business. Industry was not yet capable of producing modern goods.