Distributor of Apple and Samsung said about the "commodity hole"

The head of Merlion suggested that the prices for equipment in Russia would not be able to return to the pre-crisis level. They are affected by the lack of competition with foreign vendors,

Prices for equipment in Russia will begin to decline in the near future, however, most likely they will not return to the level before February 24, Dmitry Vinogradov, head of the Merlion distributor, said in an interview with RBC.

He explained that until recently the Russian market was supported by foreign vendors present on it, who fought for market share, arranged various marketing campaigns, etc. Because of this, prices in Russia for many products were lower than, for example, in Europe, Central Asia, Turkey, and there was little gray market as such.

“Now there is no such pressure and struggle for a share, therefore, most likely, prices will become slightly higher than the European average, but not dramatically,” he predicted. At the same time, the head of Merlion expects a decrease in prices from the current level due to a decrease in the dollar exchange rate and the Central Bank rate. According to his estimates, this could happen as early as the third quarter of this year.

The head of Merlion - RBC: "We see a "commodity pit" Technology and media

Pricing is influenced by many factors, such as logistics, the cost and availability of lending from banks, Vinogradov points out. After the start of a special military operation, supply chains were disrupted, some manufacturers announced their complete and final withdrawal from the market, "some of them are in the pause stage." In the past, a fairly significant volume of products even from Southeast Asia and Chinawent through Europe, but with the start of a special military operation, transit through it became impossible. Problems with air traffic began to be resolved around May: new intermediary services began to appear to replace the departed ones. But since they were "not as optimized" as their predecessors, their cost was slightly higher, which increased logistics costs, but, as Vinogradov noted, "not dramatically." “What used to be delivered by sea through Europe now travels directly to Russia through the Far East, and then by rail,” he said.

The price of equipment began to grow at the end of February against the backdrop of an increase in the dollar and limited supplies in Russia. RBC monitoring showed that by March 9, the cost of iPhone Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy A12 smartphones in the Eldorado network increased by 27.3% compared to the figure on February 28, and by March 29 - by 36.4%. Already by the end of March, there was a shortage of previous iPhone 11 and 12 models, since their stocks in Russia were small, and after the price increase, their cost turned out to be more affordable compared to new models. Retailers predicted that the stocks of equipment of brands that announced the suspension of work in Russia would be enough for 2-3 months.

According to Rosstat, in March, against the backdrop of rush demand and the devaluation of the ruble, prices for flash drives and monitors increased by 37%, but already in April the equipment fell in price. USB flash drives fell in price by 15.6%, TV sets, computer monitors, electric vacuum cleaners fell by 14% and a little more, and laptops by 13.2%. In early June, retailers reported a reduction in the range of household appliances and electronics due to the lack of supplies of finished products and problems with domestic production. In terms of brands, the assortment decreased most significantly at Bosch, Electrolux, Samsung, Miele, Dyson, Apple, the Kholodilnik.ru chain of stores claimed. However, then foreign goods began to enter Russia through parallel imports, that is, without the consent of the copyright holder. The list of products published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in early May,

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