Izhmash plans to sell expensive clothes under the brand of Kalashnikov

The Izhmash company under the brand of its most popular weapon - Kalashnikov’s machine gun - plans to sell expensive clothes. This was told by the CEO of the company Maxim Kuzyuk. His company intends to take the consolidation of the brand, which is now "managed inefficiently." The deal to buy exclusive rights to use the Kalashnikov brand Izhmash is scheduled for late summer, reports Life News .

The rights to the Kalashnikov brand belong to the family of a famous designer - they have long been licensing the production of non -core goods under the legendary name. So, since 1995, the Glazovsky Likemar Plant produces Kalashnikov vodka, the German company MMI has the rights to produce watches, umbrellas and other everyday goods under the name of the designer.

The Russian company Rinzo sells Kalashnikov toy machines collected in Chinese factories. In 2006, AvtoVAZ even planned to develop a SUV under the Kalashnikov brand, but the project was not implemented.

The head of the IZHMASH NPO Maxim Kuzyuk believes that unprofessional management is harmful to the brand. Izhmash NPO is negotiating with Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov regarding the provision of professional management services of the brand, ”Kuzyuk says.“ It is necessary for Izhmash to exclusively represent the Kalashnikov brand and have the opportunity to determine the policy of its use. ”

After the consolidation of exclusive rights to Kalashnikov, Izhmash is going to produce a variety of products under this brand, starting from clothes to souvenirs. Kuzyuk noted that the products "should not be simple and cheap."

According to Alexander Eremenko, the managing partner of Brandlab, today Kalashnikov has very high recognition, but there is no business. “Given how many fakes in the world there are or simply unlicensed production of Kalashnikov, Izhmash is losing big income,” Eremenko states.

And according to the head of the Brandolog agency, Polina Shershneva, in the case of launching the Kalashnikov trademark in the field of the fashion industry, the cost of the brand will be much lower than in the arms segment.

According to analysts, Kalashnikov is unlikely to be a great success in the clothing market. "In Russia, brands with foreign roots are more popular, and" Kalashnikov ", despite its fame, is unlikely to mean status, quality of cut or materials for the buyer," argues Anton Safronov, investkafa analyst. The maximum that can be achieved is demand in the highly specialized segment of clothing for outdoor activities: hunting, fishing, hiking, etc. ”