on our team. if. fish. if. it's our last hour here in moscow you're watching out for your brain. grease is that you finance minister takes office for the whole of the school in single people except further also there's. some way bailouts costs a shrug of the future a minute said nations like turkey and we're desperate to join up on our own you rethink. the present regressive criticizes the state's role in the russian economy small ruction for threaten the country's development spots in the international

atomic foreign accent it is good he reinstated his commitment to modernization drastic measures to create a better investment climate. the e.u. plans a third set of tougher sanctions against syria was a crackdown on protesters ten years forcibly claiming at least sixteen knowledge of friday some experts warn the sanctions committee paving the way for an idiot style intervention. the next we look at russia's business prospects for peace with well in on the money. hello and welcome to on the money where the business of russia is business i'm peter lavelle today we're broadcasting from the st petersburg international economic forum and we're talking about branding. to discuss

branding i'm joined by robert sasson he is senior managing director at u.f.c. private equity also we have you know she is chairman of the board of the retail chain technique and robert me he's managing partner at robert make consulting group ok gentlemen we're in st petersburg and i'd like to ask you robert the first question when we think of the term branding the country japan technology china the factory of the world germany decision united states maybe too much financial markets you think of russia what brand comes to mind if if there's one if one does come to rob me what i can say about that i've lived here in russia for a long time and i've watched a lot of changes and improvements happen over the past ten to fifteen years if i had to describe russia in short i would say it's continue to be a country in transition with considerable long term potential is that a brain that's

a brand in my opinion it is because i'm not sure how well she could describe it because we won from one system in or one from one french there and in so we're in transition to i mean create their own model here in russia i would say it's not going to match the model you'll see in other countries but what i can see it has considerable long term potential not short term but long term i think the vision is there the policy vision is there on behalf of the president's administration and the government it's just the biggest step is taking this theory and policy and putting it into practice and that means changing the institutions changing the the infrastructure changing the mentality of a lot of the people that may take a very long time robert. i know you private equity when you look at investors what kind of brand do they see in russia what do you see is a plus a deficit or a void but sadly what we've seen recently is a lot of successes in the in the i.t. space in technology i mean take a brand which maybe hopefully associated with russia but i think is you know has

very strong russian roots which is to go. get great company to do very well anti-viral program exactly like more recently there's been an i.p.o. and expertly with great success. right is that we're actually an investor like it in that you know that's ourselves but there are a lot of very very bright russians a lot of people who have very good computer skills software development skills and i think about is becoming a brand with russia you know you are you actually growing the chain electronics. softwoods chain how hard is it in russia today two thousand and eleven to create a lasting viable valuable brand. i think. you can create the brand in a day you know because the solution changes so quickly even in our segment before the chinese ask the almost lame you will of them pull all exist in chains no we just. make changes in industry because the impulse of internet people for the

changes are just going to have a source of people and people will want to fly and something tells them they want to buy and put those quite useful then years ago. the old russia is this really unique solution especially in the infield if you're going to it was just an european company. one was a company muse exist also lead a strong national brands in the scene local brands google roads in full signal still for national repeal all. the national brands he's used or in some women it's a little it's you know. you're tricky here you're striving to be the biggest in the best in your field have you learned certain branding techniques from western media western competitors or western peers i mean how do you when you look at your consumer how do you match brand and your consumer you you are looking at certain specific local issues that you can play upon or do you look outside and say hey

well you know in britain they did this or in argentina they did that i mean is it a combination how do you do it princes always it's always trust it means a. really gusting the state of the be additional premium. was it just in your words was it just in your stories. are those who are excited says oh there's a chance the only way to complete it is easier commons than to go to develop a bus stop let's see friends. you know where should you know where. you can where. or electronics people really need you to put a premium because you because there's a lot of international competition you suppose it is difficult to understand the quality of either but if you buy some. some stuff like a giver where you can. judge the quality and people look at you. you see the waves that are almost more strong brands in produce or simply you may

never go back to robert here i mean before the program where we were both discussing i mean if we look at an international audience international customers there is i can only think of one international russian brand and i'm sorry it's twenty years out of the end of the soviet union and that's kalashnikov ok i can think maybe gentlemen can help me out here but i can't think of another brand here that it's a real deficit here but is it also one of the community i think it's a considerable opportunity to go. as michael was saying there probably are some very good brands that are known here in russia and i know there are some russian consumers that would really love to buy the russian brand instead of the foreign ground so they. just waiting for someone to please do something with them or improve them. russia has considerable potential because they can take the best practices from around the world they can apply them here in free brands and really export them out i mean they have really. limited what they can do it's wide open and i'm sure in the world i mean sure there's somebody in some other brands that

are being exported now but there's a whole broad range that's really going to get whatever that also is a i won't name the brand but i like to teach wristwatches ok and i came across the russian brain on naming here and it's absolutely explicit maybe a little galbi a little bit too much this is what i did say ok well this is until i see toward my russian one but my point is that technologically speaking it's state of the art it can go up against any swiss brains but it's a third the price you can afford the price what it does at manufacture how to do it i'd like to point out their presentation that with a box with a fold in it was awful ok wasn't attractive ok but the politics itself was how do they get around that this is just investing the enormous amount of money just to be people everyone else's stuff but i think it's a process that i mean it's going to take time in any case it's only been you know twenty odd years old. when russian policy was with the thing that with was really

considered to be good i mean i mean looking about him or you can see adventurous and watch and i think the changing i mean we're seeing with seeing russian russian brands which are now being. pushed forth in the west and the association of russia with even western brands. is very potent take chelsea football club i mean russia has done a lot for an individual believe that a lot of the russians have made this possible and i fantastic you know there are some things where you can definitely see there's been a lot of progress and in pushing a russian to the asian you know thing going you may do russian brain. hands have to be better than the best to be equal i just gave the example of a wristwatch manufacturer i mean what do you have to do to get the eye of a consumer because they're selfish so many brands out there that people identify with i mean i'm holding a painting here again i won't name it here maybe i mean this is one of the nicer ones but most of them are just pure plastic they still cost

a lot of money ok you're buying the brand how hard it is is it for you in russian companies can really meet that challenge. group to bring the city of challenge especially if you are just bits of being goes away. easily union in the us money into the us those are people the feel of them is money and. you almost get it's about selling put in some areas which if you want and to bret's it means that people seem to see really think brands people. need it but it would be no great entertainment was a sensible people. its is like it was before in or one little bit in order for. you to be pretty lousy since those of all it's a business they still have a hammer and sickle i'd like to point out it's their logo which again you know their place to a local consumer here because ideas are branded is considered of value though it

may be ambiguous to a foreign. consumer and i can tell you what is so i think it's an interesting story that they kept that that mark the hammer and sickle and they they kept it in after the soviet union because it's so well known among russian citizens you know but i think that example around there to really change them you know were very sad because before when you thought of your life you know i thought of it to flow one could be for iraq's borders or something like that and now you. mean the international flights on our flight are very rare the service is very good it's very international standard and they have a lot of direct flights in places there though. well you know robert already there are old brands think they can actually be made internationally i think the first company that ever listed a local on a local stock exchange was bolshevik biscuits yeah males ok i mean well known in russia but that's a hard it's a hard sell i was trying to push as you have received several i.p.o.'s of companies

which have you know associations very close associations with russian names. and it is a you know off to there's a very hard sell but i think when people actually get into these companies and look at the quality of management look at the fundamentals driving those companies forwards and the market they have in russia and now continue to expand outside of russia you know we've seen quite a few successes going to it's really interesting across the carpet of the confectionery again if you translate it into english red october it still does not have an appeal to outside this because the borders of this country which i can attach the of their product is makes ok it is competitive but you know i mean they are they're real can you think of any brands outside of kalashnikov which is a real negative one must really be any other brand that can be sold outside of russia's borders using its name no are you a name we named our aeroflot that's probably been home with a whole spread probably. you see in eighty two it would be

maybe you successful if you're in love it will store i think girl will stumble simple fold program ski to. shop windows are long term problem company closing simply to keep some people's work. because of lily all right i'm going to jump in here we're going to go with a short break and after that short break we'll return discuss russia's gray mixtape regard to. the.

why stream cascading from mountain slopes to view is miss much. of this beauty brings deaths at a speed of more than two hundred kilometers from. the stand to slam a launch on a large sheet. huge piece soon which bryson. moved some from phones to try and shoot some. through stunts on t.v. don't succumb. to the. welcome back on the money i'm peter lavelle in this episode we're discussing branding ok robert i want to go to you we've heard

a lot of good things about brining in the first part of the program but i always like to pour a little bit of cold water on things is really branding all that important when so many people in this country because there's a huge income difference here is branding so important only discoursed small small percentage of the population is it just for aspirational people and i think many russians are really quite pleased with russian products that come in depends what we're talking about and their aspirations i mean they want something of good quality that's affordable and there's a lot of historical and traditional aspects to some of the brands that have been around for a long time you like to reminisce about remember the old is this wine this cookie whatever so i think. given the some of the people are never going to reach a point where they can expire the most expensive around with for them it's not for the you know driver it is i think it's very interesting as late as june in moscow they have a this store i guess. and all and ten years ago even five years ago i would say they know what no one of whom would never again and i do want

to our viewers as a huge huge department store dared to put a soviet almost replica and now you go there it's very very popular robert in the same reasons that you mention brands that you grew up with and we mind me something very much when i lived in poland before i came to russia was there was a me go we all went movement among kids producers to say look you had all of the wonderful western goods the serials the soaps the good pay ins would have been the clothes but we had some good stuff here you see that trend there really picking up some steam here because costs a drink that almost disappeared here in the kind of an equivalent of coca-cola or some kind of coal in the west came back i guess i was history and i don't know what i'm seeing is more sophisticated russian vibrationally are actually beginning to understand the value of some of the older and better russian brand from sixty's to this and in food products and drinks in types of the air and imported so definitely

is going back to the question of whether these brands can then be marketed outside of russia the success of not only not only the home market you know if i go to you i mean this could be a tough one in your russian soul and ask you a tough question here russia's reputation is problematic in many parts of the world because of the soviet past in some cases even before that i mean how does russia in russian companies get over that i mean its history i mean this is a market economy people are very very savvy here they certainly have the abilities and knowledge in now even money here i mean is is that kind of all the brand of russia's activity is that still a major barrier for companies that want to go beyond the borders to sell to consumers because it is a globalized economy and to be a global winner you have to go global. you can create brands only. fuel waste was the wrong. side of the reach wolf legion of. missional

jericho's if you look at the world russia it's good if you really do you know everybody will understand our russian well if. you will. was supposed program. if you see all the national brands that exist. the brands you hate the people close the door. so it's a high quality even the broth even the western companies are going to bowl. like good you also russian are stupid. it's a stupid law and you always need to be. used for all those don't you michel felician you focused on human should ok maybe again you know i'm going to pour a little bit of cold water on this here i'm likely to name the companies because i don't want to promote them and i don't want them to get angry with me at the same time but the same energy companies in russia there when there is a dispute with a neighboring country. i don't see that they put a whole lot of effort into p.r.

in creating a brand you know one authoritative responsible corporate citizen i mean is when you get too big and too powerful is it is there a risk of being lazy and saying it doesn't matter because we're here and people have to deal with this mean is that you think in fact that is the case and just how dangerous is it because it is dangerous i think for your speaking more on russia russia the brown disappears jack and similar products because i consumer products i think it was a very string me along trying to have something very competitive in the world and actually large energy companies they were directly associated with the russian state in some gas they're owned by russians in that respect. it's true and it's very important because in russia it's a little bit different where you see the fine line between business and politics it's much finer in russia than it is in many other countries and. we still have a lot of these companies that are state owned or there's a high level of state participation so again on this transition i was talking about

once we get to the point where there's more privatization when there's more institutions that are set up better for a better rule of law and the conditions that are good for foreign investors then i think you'll start to see bit of a change in the mentality and basically how russia presents itself overseas. when you think about how do you think low i mean small and medium companies have to go out of their way to make a good impression but let's go beyond the pocket of my of my since i actually sit on the board of one of the large state shipping companies in russia as a non-executive director and i was brought on along with several. independent directors to try to help help me with dealing with corporate governance issues and dealing with always the image of the company and him out of markets and we're trying very hard to to improve that isn't the issue of what's the biggest barrier what's the biggest challenge you face from doing what i think the biggest challenge is is there has been one of mentality he's changed but again it's

a question i do see a generational thing i think it will take us to that i mean i think it's you know if you get going to be a couple of years but generally i think of you know ten fifteen years you see the love of a lot of progress and i think that's going to continue to rio it will always go back to this year and i in western media russian companies often get a bad rap certainly in the russian state. how can the russian business in your opinion being a businessman yourself help improve the image of russia as a brand on the international stage because you know when a lot of critics said the west will look at banks to look at oil companies you know it's these evil institutions and things like that but as we've already pointed out on this program here there's not that much of people make that kind of differentiation what does business have to do to disassociate itself with government institutions and paul. titian's you. usually when people see you

both the company and company made sure it's of around these trades these little experience if you come along. in france looking was the french people or. you would have the same experience on some view and some impression from this he says or if you buy the believe just say some items like japanese technique or. you'll. like a. child for the coolidge roses i don't suppose a mission will jerk but. i think that only with our shop it is greed a strong image it's possible to be more but. really. it's it's not a letter was a gulp it's a matter of business as well as weekly that is strong business oriented or poor it's the people who come and i shop who can spend here. these weeks spent money

will be bought from a company forces version of the schools. will do you not only consumables maybe it will be in order to build builds maybe it will be a bronze it will be a. well what's believed as you know like you see kalashnikov water go national football school you could call your program beyond a kalashnikov here i thought about this form that we're out here for how valuable is this forum in st petersburg because it's really a man so a lot of people here who lives a lot of what i read in western media about media about what interest there is in russia i mean there's just a billion there are so many billions in this complex here it's hard to keep track of who's here and you can't meet everyone obviously i mean. there are forums like this worth while why do you guys and. i think he's actually on this program were ok at. and by the way this form in particular has improved dramatically i would say six seven years ago it was

a completely different form and i think twice the government of the president said look this is going to be our forum and they showed a real commitment it's a great opportunity for networking it's it's quite incredible incredible you won't find a better forum i think than mr to meet anyone who's either a senior in government or senior in business so for with respect to the dialogue the ability to meet people face to face exchange ideas i think it's really quite building here transparency it's really it's right on for open access i mean you don't have. pretty much you walking by you can be whether it's the president the minister or the head of severstal whoever it might be and it's the access is really quite impressive we think of i am i doing is just quite a few of them but this is seems to be one of the issues it was just i mean i should live in peace by seventeen years so i mean here it is very nice anyway but i i found that it's got a lot better than over the past years and suddenly he did lead the organizers of trying very hard to maintain its national form not only focusing on russia but on its nationally seeds and then he was right about it and trying to write high

quality people from business always that people come here to listen to what the president's going to say. and that sophie reported as well but would you say this form is more business driven than politics and policy i didn't yeah i definitely got probably explains the attraction the whole why did you come to this when you can do this for. want to do this for me at the same putrid. show you can surely make sure that he'll say complaints. i'm always like you i don't like to spend too much than poses for him because he. usually is a little. useless usually it's useless to just spend time should look. to see if anybody. else is sitting here. with everybody. you have a chance to meet that we use as a base so we. almost difficult for me to keep but you got. to meet him in one the rooms in the city you can see people will meet them swim up we'll to meet.

you can also hear some really interesting news for all those girls. will meet you the last word here what would you like to see change in russia over the next five years when it comes to brand. britain or for the country. i'd like to see a really driven by business where it's less skirvin by politics less driven by government but actually business setting or setting the pace and then you'll get a feel for it this country really has made the transition and it operates functions like any other. thriving is different than any other place in the world right to move on out of time i want to thank all my guests here in the studio i want to thank our viewers for watching us here on the money see you next time and skate charging.

to a substantial degree and one problem or another socialism has spread to shadow of human

regimentation over most of the nations of europe and the shadow is encroaching upon . the early twenty first century military bases the network of military bases all around the forms of the empire that the united states is trying to get it's astonishing most americans have no idea there are more than a quarter of a million more than two hundred fifty thousand us troops stationed on these bases all around us. we don't have power bases america we don't have any british base we don't have any korean base we don't have any french bases or you know we just all american bases in our bases of ah there are the noises our north as it doesn't bother us at all because they're all bases but for other people it's almost like a cancer here from space. since the the in.