During the renovation of Primorsky Avenue, car dealers are forced to invent new trading formats

The Mercedes-Benz Avangard salon, owned by hockey player Maxim Sushinsky, and the largest Volvo salon in St. Petersburg, Svid-Mobil, located on Primorsky Prospekt, after the start of the reconstruction of this highway, were blocked by a construction fence and practically lost access roads. Because of this, Svid-Mobil began to lose market share, and Avangard had to open an additional showroom.

The Svid-Mobil company is the largest Volvo dealer in St. Petersburg, it owns two of the brand's five showrooms in the city. According to Svid-Mobil itself, its market share in Volvo sales in St. Petersburg last year was 40%, and in service maintenance - 55%. The reconstruction of Primorsky Avenue, which led to the blockade of the largest Svid-Mobil store, began in early summer. Up to this point, Svid-Mobil even managed to increase its market share. In January-June this year, the company sold 471 Volvos, which is 47% of the market. At the same time, in July-September, about 600 Volvos were sold in St. Petersburg, of which Svid-Mobil accounted for only 35%, while the company’s total share dropped to 42% in nine months.

According to the Autobiography company (Volvo dealer), due to the blockade of the showroom on Primorsky Prospekt, Svid-Mobil's annual plan for Volvo sales in St. Petersburg was reduced by 10%, and for service - by 15%. The general director of Svid-Mobil, Daniil Plitman, denies this, although he admits that the lack of normal access roads has reduced the salon’s attendance by half. “But the company will try to maintain its market share,” Mr. Plitman insists. Let us note that Svid-Mobil is building its third Volvo showroom in the southwest of St. Petersburg, costing about $10 million. It should be operational by the beginning of 2012. Previously, Svid-Mobil planned to use it to occupy up to 60% of the Volvo market in St. Petersburg.

During the blockade, Svid-Mobil’s neighbor on Primorskoe Highway, the Avangard Mercedes-Benz salon of hockey player Maxim Sushinsky, also had to look for new ways to sell cars. Avangard Auto Center is Mr. Sushinsky’s only automobile enterprise. But the company managed to agree with Mercedes-Benz to open an additional showroom in Krestyansky Lane (near the Petrogradskaya metro station). Avangard opened a new sales point in early September, investing 1.5 million rubles in it.

According to Vladimir Chernikov, Avangard's sales director, the company planned to open such a showroom even before the start of the reconstruction of Primorsky Prospekt, and when the renovation was completed, the second site would continue to operate. However, one of the Mercedes-Benz dealers told Kommersant that such formats completely contradict the importer’s standards, and Avangard received an indulgence only for the period of the blockade of the main enterprise. Mercedes representatives were unavailable for comment yesterday.

Avangard's share of Mercedes sales in St. Petersburg in January - June was about 20%; during this period the company sold 306 cars. Mr. Chernikov refused to say how many cars it sold in nine months. In total, there are four Mercedes showrooms in St. Petersburg, which sold about 2.45 thousand cars in nine months. At the end of the year, Mr. Chernikov said, Avangard plans to sell more than 600 cars.

Maxim Vertman

Autoblockade – Kommersant St. Petersburg