Go to the market before April 1
You cannot say that such things as perfumes, sheepskin coats, fur coats, refrigerators, freezer compartments, sewing-machines and computers are goods of first priority. But at the same time it is impossible to imagine our life without them. Unfortunately, if potential buyers have been putting off their plans to bye them till after April 1, they may be disappointed. Specialists say that prices for such goods may increase dramatically. The thing is that according to the new law, entrepreneurs selling goods produced abroad will have to get a special license allowing foreign-economic activity.
To obtain the license one has to meet a number of conditions. One of the most important things is having a contract with the producer. It means that an entrepreneur should have a dollar account and carry out all operations by cashless settlement.
Moreover, perfume sellers will have to leave their small shops and create specialty stores taking at least 50 square metres.
Many shops will not be able to do it and will simply drop out of the business like an entrepreneur Valyantsіna who sells perfumes at the shopping centre “Impulse”.
Valyantsіna: “We are going to sell the rest of what we have and that’s all. We won’t be working anymore. We have decided to start selling other goods. So there will only be state shops. But will it be better for buyers?
We have licensed original perfumes here. Not everyone can afford buying them even now. I will certainly avoid going to state shops. It will be too expensive for me. Many people are going to lose their jobs.
When a shop closes someone loses a job. I think it is wrong”.
Prices for PCs and note-books are also going to increase by 25-30%. But it won’t happen everywhere. An employee of the “Cityline” computer shop Alyaksey Makarevich says that his company will prefer losing some of their profit and try not to lose their clients.
Alyaksey Makarevіch:”We will meet our clients’ demands and the prices will not increase dramatically, not more than by 4 or 5%.
We will be gaining less but we will keep the prices. As far as I know many entrepreneurs will have to increase prices because it is necessary to survive somehow.
But we will not do it, we will just lower the extra charge”.
Unlike small shops, big stores are not expecting any increase in prices.
First of all it concerns big stores working directly with producers and already carrying out all operations by cashless settlement. For example, a Minsk shop “Zvezda”. Its director Alena Kalesnіchenka confirmed it.
Alena Kalesnіchenka: “The prices will not change until some new law is adopted. Nothing will change for companies working legally. If entrepreneurs working in small shops decide to do something about it their prices may go up.”
The sales tax increased on February 1 and it concerned all imported goods. Our prices increased by 10%. But there will be no changes now”.
The new law is supposed to decrease the number of false goods at the Belarusian market. But Alyaksey Makarevich thinks that there are no such goods at the computer market. There can only be devices imported illegally.
In this case buyers will only lose a possibility of after-sales service. Valyantsіna, an entrepreneur selling perfumes, says she would never distribute bad goods because she would lose her profit in such a case – the buyer would not come to her again. But Alena Kalesnіchenka states that there are a lot of false goods in Belarus and the new law will help to deal with the problem.
Alena Kalesnіchenka: “I often visit such centres as “Parking” and “Europa”. I ask them whether they bring their goods from Russia. But they say they take them from “Zvezda”. We do not deliver our goods to anyone; the producer did not give us the right to distribute the goods. So I ask them where they take the goods from. There are a lot of small shops like that”.
The vice President of the Belarusian Union of entrepreneurs Alyaksandr Patupa thinks that it is not simply a struggle against false goods and fakes.
Alyaksandr Patupa: “It is a process of creation of an oligarchic network in the country. The most profitable segments of the market are being taken by huge trade structures, business groups and officials.
We think private entrepreneurs do not need this pillage. We need a serious discussion of small business prospects in general. We do not need art. 1.1 of order 760 that may eliminate it. We have our own demands and we will continue our struggle”.
Photo by photo.bymedia.net
To obtain the license one has to meet a number of conditions. One of the most important things is having a contract with the producer. It means that an entrepreneur should have a dollar account and carry out all operations by cashless settlement.
Moreover, perfume sellers will have to leave their small shops and create specialty stores taking at least 50 square metres.
Many shops will not be able to do it and will simply drop out of the business like an entrepreneur Valyantsіna who sells perfumes at the shopping centre “Impulse”.
Valyantsіna: “We are going to sell the rest of what we have and that’s all. We won’t be working anymore. We have decided to start selling other goods. So there will only be state shops. But will it be better for buyers?
We have licensed original perfumes here. Not everyone can afford buying them even now. I will certainly avoid going to state shops. It will be too expensive for me. Many people are going to lose their jobs.
When a shop closes someone loses a job. I think it is wrong”.
Prices for PCs and note-books are also going to increase by 25-30%. But it won’t happen everywhere. An employee of the “Cityline” computer shop Alyaksey Makarevich says that his company will prefer losing some of their profit and try not to lose their clients.
Alyaksey Makarevіch:”We will meet our clients’ demands and the prices will not increase dramatically, not more than by 4 or 5%.
We will be gaining less but we will keep the prices. As far as I know many entrepreneurs will have to increase prices because it is necessary to survive somehow.
But we will not do it, we will just lower the extra charge”.
Unlike small shops, big stores are not expecting any increase in prices.
First of all it concerns big stores working directly with producers and already carrying out all operations by cashless settlement. For example, a Minsk shop “Zvezda”. Its director Alena Kalesnіchenka confirmed it.
Alena Kalesnіchenka: “The prices will not change until some new law is adopted. Nothing will change for companies working legally. If entrepreneurs working in small shops decide to do something about it their prices may go up.”
The sales tax increased on February 1 and it concerned all imported goods. Our prices increased by 10%. But there will be no changes now”.
The new law is supposed to decrease the number of false goods at the Belarusian market. But Alyaksey Makarevich thinks that there are no such goods at the computer market. There can only be devices imported illegally.
In this case buyers will only lose a possibility of after-sales service. Valyantsіna, an entrepreneur selling perfumes, says she would never distribute bad goods because she would lose her profit in such a case – the buyer would not come to her again. But Alena Kalesnіchenka states that there are a lot of false goods in Belarus and the new law will help to deal with the problem.
Alena Kalesnіchenka: “I often visit such centres as “Parking” and “Europa”. I ask them whether they bring their goods from Russia. But they say they take them from “Zvezda”. We do not deliver our goods to anyone; the producer did not give us the right to distribute the goods. So I ask them where they take the goods from. There are a lot of small shops like that”.
The vice President of the Belarusian Union of entrepreneurs Alyaksandr Patupa thinks that it is not simply a struggle against false goods and fakes.
Alyaksandr Patupa: “It is a process of creation of an oligarchic network in the country. The most profitable segments of the market are being taken by huge trade structures, business groups and officials.
We think private entrepreneurs do not need this pillage. We need a serious discussion of small business prospects in general. We do not need art. 1.1 of order 760 that may eliminate it. We have our own demands and we will continue our struggle”.
Photo by photo.bymedia.net
