MTS Retail Network

A group of goods - cell phones, accessories for them. The company has an extensive retail network throughout Russia, there are eight branches - in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Khabarovsk.

Performance indicators

2013

The retail chain MTS (CJSC Russian Telephone Company), an operator retailer in, Russia announced in the summer of 2013 an increase in sales through the online store by 2.4 times in monetary terms in the first six months of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012.

"The growth of Internet sales was significantly influenced by the spread of mobile Internet in Russia and the improvement of our customer service: in particular, during the first half of 2013, MTS quadrupled the number of cities where courier delivery service is available. The method of receiving goods "pick up in store" (ordering on the Internet, receiving in the nearest salon) also continues to be highly popular - this is how 93% of purchases are made in the online store, - said Vadim Savchenko, MTS Vice President for Sales and Services. - Among the main trends of the first half of 2013 is the growing popularity of tablets among customers of the MTS online store: their sales increased by more than 2.5 times compared to the first half of 2012. This is confirmed by our data on the penetration of these devices - over the year the number of tablet computers registered in the MTS network has tripled. "

In monetary terms, tablets occupied 8.5% of the total volume of online orders in the MTS store in the first half of 2013. Laptops accounted for about 0.3% of online turnover, which is 55% less than in the first half of 2012. In quantitative terms, laptop purchases decreased in January-June of this year by 16% compared to the same period last year.

Sales of phones through the www.shop.mts.ru online store in January-June 2013 increased 2.4 times compared to January-June 2012 - in the first half of 2013, they accounted for 87% of online sales of the MTS Retail Network in monetary terms. At the same time, the share of smartphones in the total number of mobile phones sold through the online store amounted to 70%, in revenue - 83%. The average cost of phones purchased in the MTS online store was 10,671 rubles, which is 27% higher than the average price of phones purchased in salons.

Among the regions whose residents most actively make online purchases are the Volga region (22% in the total turnover of the MTS online store) and Moscow and the Moscow region (21%). The Southern Federal District accounts for about 16% of total Internet sales, while the Ural and North-Western Districts account for 10% each. About 8% of the turnover of the MTS online store is provided by residents of Siberia, about 7% - by the Central Federal District, about 6% - by the Far East.

2012

As of the third quarter of 2012, there are about 11 thousand operating salons in Russia. Of these, MTS has a number of salons of its own retail network reaching 4 thousand, which includes about 70 flagships, and about 1.6 thousand salons are franchised.

Megafon has 3.9 thousand monobrand salons (2.3 thousand fall on the franchise scheme). Euroset and Svyaznoy have a total of about 8 thousand salons, of which 3,125 stores are included in the Svyaznoy network, by the end of 2012 the company intends to increase their number by several hundred more. The Euroset network has 5.26 thousand stores (data as of March 2012).

According to TelecomDaily, Svyaznoy's share in the mobile technology market is 23%, Euroset's share is at 32%, the third largest player in this market, MTS, occupies 15%, taking into account its franchise salons. At the same time, the total share of monobrends in the market is less than 20%.

Shop.MTS.ru

As of January 2013, residents of about 1000 cities of Russia can use the delivery of goods from the MTS online store. Courier delivery "to the door" is carried out in 36 cities. You can place an order for www.shop.mts.ru with delivery to the salon both independently and by contacting the consultants of MTS salons. Information on prices, availability of goods, sales of new models on the website of the online store is updated hourly. The system works around the clock throughout Russia in all time zones. MTS subscribers participating in the MTS Bonus program receive bonus points automatically when making online purchases in the MTS store.

In January 2013, the MTS Retail Network (Russian Telephone Company CJSC) announced an increase in sales through the online store by 2.5 times in 2012 compared to 2011 due to the growth of mobile Internet users, as well as the general growth of the online trading market in Russia.

"Online shopping is becoming commonplace for owners of portable mobile devices - the growth in sales of smartphones and tablets is actively contributing to an increase in the volume of Internet commerce. Over the year, the share of orders made in shop.mts.ru by mobile Internet users has doubled. In addition, online shopping in general is growing in popularity: according to our estimates, the online goods trading market in 2012 grew by 25% in Russia. These factors, as well as the maximum integration of retail and online channels of our network, became the main drivers of online sales growth and made it possible to increase the turnover of the MTS online store in 2012 by 2.5 times - up to one billion rubles, "said Vadim Savchenko, Vice President for Sales and Service of MTS.

Phone sales through the online store grew 2.5 times over the year, they accounted for 89% of online sales of the MTS retail network in monetary terms. At the same time, the share of smartphones in the total number of mobile phones sold through the online store in unit terms amounted to 50%, in revenue - 82%. The average cost of phones sold in the online store was 8,200 rubles, which is twice the average price of phones purchased offline.

Portable equipment (tablets, laptops, cameras) accounted for about 10% of the turnover, the volume of sales of these devices increased 3.2 times over the past year.

Among the regions whose residents most actively practice online shopping:

• Volga region (22% in the total turnover of the online store),
• Moscow and Moscow region (21%),
• South (15%),
• Ural (13%),
• Northwest (11%),
• Siberia - 8%.

History

2023: Launch of new format of stores - big ones with emphasis on electronics sales

On December 18, 2023, MTS announced the opening of retail stores of a new format. We are talking about large retail outlets in which the sale of electronics is emphasized.

The first store is open in the Pearl Plaza shopping center. Its area is 123 square meters. m., which is more than twice as much as the traditional format of the MTS retail network. The store is divided into seven main zones: Telephony, Sound, TV, Portable Equipment, Smart Home, Accessories, as well as the Service Zone, in which customers can receive online orders.

MTS announced the opening of retail stores of a new format

In addition to smartphones, tablets and accessories, such will sell headphones and speakers, TVs and set-top boxes, smart home products, vacuum cleaners, as well as digital products of the operator himself, for example, MTS Premium subscriptions. The volume of investments in this project in MTS was not disclosed.

The general director of Infoline Analytics, Mikhail Burmistrov, in a conversation with Kommersant, estimated the costs of opening one such store at 3.5 million rubles. According to Burmistrov, the potential for enlarging the area of ​ ​ points "is associated with the creation of full-fledged digital markets with a wider range and focus on the sale of goods for the smart home, with active additional sales of services and subscriptions from ecosystem products." DNA Realty CEO Anton Belykh considers MTS's strategy "financially controversial" and doubts that the company will be able to recoup investments in repairs and increase in space.

The new format of stores should become a point of contact for customers, in which they will be able not only to test new items, but also to receive expert advice on a variety of issues. We plan to partially replace old stores with a new format, opening retail spaces with an area of ​ ​ 50 to 100 square meters. m, while we will not reduce or increase the total number of stores, - said Rustam Mustaev, Operating Director of MTS retail chain.[1]

2022: Appointment of Andrey Gubanov as CEO

On December 8, 2022, MTS PJSC announced the appointment of Andrei Gubanov as General Director of the MTS retail network (RTK JSC). The appointment comes into force on January 1, 2023. Read more here.

2020

Appointment of Sergei Belyakov as CEO

On April 14, 2020, MTS PJSC announced the appointment of Sergei Belyakov as General Director of the MTS retail network (RTK JSC). Read more here.

Increase in the staff of couriers due to employees of closed salons

At the end of March 2020, MTS announced an increase in the staff of couriers due to employees of salons that are temporarily closed in Russia due to the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19.

The company believes that the involvement of additional personnel will reduce the burden on existing couriers and increase the speed of delivery. In March 28-29, 2020 alone, the number of orders in the operator's online store increased by 72%.

MTS transfers employees of closed salons to work as couriers

By the end of March 2020, MTS retail network employees work as couriers only  in Moscow during the pilot project. 150 people joined the capital's delivery service. Then the experiment is planned to be scaled up throughout the  country.

It will be free for all orders made through the online store or decorated through the hotline. At the same time, it is noted that employees are attracted to work as couriers on a voluntary basis.

MTS says that the spread of a new type of coronavirus, due to which shopping centers, parks and catering establishments are closed in Moscow and other regions of Russia, has led to an increase in demand for delivery services. According to HeadHunter, the number of open courier vacancies for the three weeks of March 2020, compared to the same period in February, increased by 38%.

At the end of March 2020, local authorities in many regions of Russia decided to close hundreds of mobile salons during the weekend announced due to the coronavirus, despite the recommendations of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications. Some regions were allowed to leave one service point for each operator in cities, while banning the sale of devices.

According to the requirements of the authorities, communication salons were not opened in Udmurtia, Ivanovo, Vologda, Lipetsk, Perm, Cheboksary, Stavropol, Krasnoyarsk, Samara, Rostov-on-Don, Murmansk and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. Collectively, we are talking about hundreds of salons.^[2]

Switch to a new retail format

On March 4, 2020, MTS announced the transition to a new retail format and an increase in the share of its own products in its assortment.

As the representative of MTS Alexei Merkutov told RBC, in 2020 the operator will open 50-80 showrooms with an area of ​ ​ more than 150 square meters. m, which will contain demonstration zones for testing MTS products in the areas of smart home and eSports. There, users will be able to test smartphones and applications installed on them.

Showrooms will be open on the central streets in the cities of presence. The main task of such stores is image, so they can be planned unprofitable, said a representative of MTS.

In addition to showrooms, the company will open flagship salons with an area of ​ ​ 70 to 120 square meters. m. They will be in high traffic locations.

In addition, MTS will launch mini-salons where it is impossible to accommodate a large office. Self-service terminals will be installed at such points with an area of ​ ​ up to 20 square meters. m will be installed to receive subscriber and financial services from MTS Bank.

MTS does not disclose the volume of investments in the retail update. According to RBC, the opening of one showroom in Moscow or St. Petersburg will cost about 20 million rubles, and in the regions it is much less.

By the beginning of March 2020, the standard MTS store has an area of ​ ​ 30-50 square meters. m, equipped with windows with smartphones and accessories, self-service terminals for receiving operator services and a consultant desk. The retailer intends to reduce the share of standard stores in favor of three new formats.

Inessa Galaktionova, First Vice President for Telecommunications Business of MTS, told the publication that by the end of 2020 the company may reduce its retail to 400 salons, "but the total number of salons that we will close will depend on the market situation."^[3]

2019: Closure of 300 communication salons

On August 20, 2019, MTS announced its intention to close up to 300 salons by the end of December. Thus, the operator's retail network will be reduced by 5%.

According to RNS, citing MTS Vice President for Telecommunications Business Inessa Galaktionova, by August 2019 the company has 5880 salons.

MTS sees opportunities for reduction, because it "feels quite comfortable with sales." In particular, MTS had such a feeling thanks to a partnership with Svyaznoy, she noted. Galaktionova also added that MTS is preparing a project to modernize salons.

MTS closes 300 points of sale

Earlier in the summer of 2019, it became known that MTS is resuming sales of its SIM cards in the retail of Svyaznoy and Euroset. They were discontinued in 2015 after a conflict of partners.^[4]

MTS expects that competitors will follow the company's example in terms of reducing retail.

Usually, other players in the market take such actions behind the leader. We see all the prerequisites for all players in the market to optimize the retail format and the number of points and think that the industry will go in this direction. We have all the tools in our hands, and we see the prerequisites for optimizing the number of retail points for all market players, - said Inessa Galaktionova.

The President of MTS Aleksei Kornya spoke about the upcoming reduction in retail at the end of July 2019. Then he noted that all operators of the "Big Three" have an excessive number of communication salons. Kornya explained the need to reduce the number of retail outlets by three reasons:

• Increasing the life of old phones;
• Increasing demand for the purchase of devices on the Internet;
• The departure of consumers from street retail to shopping centers.

MTS promises to report quarterly on the reduction in the number of monobrand stores.

Notes