It has been a little over a month since I formally moved to Russia. Prior to that I spent nine years in the U.S. After a month here there are certain things that one can notice and some are worth writing about. So I though I should write about the Culture of Plastic Bags in Russia.
Plastic bags are common items owned by most Russians. They are used and reused multiple times, until the bag looks very old and can be used no more. Plastic bag is an accessory item of high importance, since men carry them everywhere and women carry their hand bags along with large plastic bags. All this could be replaced with having one large bag, however this is a habit of most Russians which is hard to remove.
For the last two three weeks I’ve been noticing large number of people all over the city carrying specific plastic bag with bright colors painted all over it. It was a plastic bag of a cosmetic retailer -Riv Gauche (Рив Гош). People are seen carrying these bags everywhere from office to metro, to industrial site. They were everywhere…
That, of course, puzzled me, since I couldn’t imagine Russian people running to a perfume retail store at 7 a.m. prior to attending work. So they must have been using Riv Gauche for some reason other than carrying freshly purchased perfumes and cosmetics.
I was right. People were just using branded Riv Gauche bags to carry personal items. That is a common practice in Russia. However, why Riv Gauche? Well their plastic bags are of high quality and of bright color combination. Also carrying Riv Gauche bag positions you as a middle of the road earner making one look more presentable than with Lenta or Pyaterochka bag. Maybe Russian consumer loves the way these bags look? Also high geographical presence may play a role since this retail cosmetic chain has a shop in every part of the city.
Well, here is what regular consumer has to say about the reason he uses Riv Gauche plastic bags : “They are tough and easy to carry, plastic is strong, handles are soft and don’t cut into your hands.
Whatever the reason is for the high presence of Riv Gauche plastic bags in St.Petersburg is it the quality of the plastic bag or the status it gives you when you carry it, or the combination of the two. Whatver the reason, Riv Gauche should be proud, since they got it right with the branding. They have archieved phenomenal brand penetration along with a large crowd of brand hostages. I can’t call them them brand champions since I don’t think this consumer knows what he is doing.
Today is my second day in Lagos, Nigeria. I came here for business, and was warmly welcomed by the client. They met me at the airport and took me to my hotel. I also heard, due to safety issues, in Nigeria picking up your associates or business partners is a must.
ve it has a lot to do with aligning your venture with current company strategy, and also it envolves Leading Change. Of course creativity has to stay within the boundries of corporate strategy, and your risks and rewards are less.
