The Ministry of Trade of Belarus proposes to reduce rental rates for individual entrepreneurs trading domestic goods. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Trade of Belarus, I. Narkevich, during a round table discussion organised by the newspaper "SB. Belarus Segodnya", according to a BELTA correspondent.
The Ministry of Trade of Belarus proposes to reduce rental rates for individual entrepreneurs trading domestic goods. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Trade of Belarus, I. Narkevich, during a round table discussion organised by the newspaper "SB. Belarus Segodnya", according to a BELTA correspondent.
"We should be more active in involving small businesses in selling domestic goods. This, by the way, is one of the advantages of enterprises operating in this format. After all, an individual entrepreneur can sell goods well: a customer comes to them, they smile, advise, and help. We have recommended to other authorities that they talk to shopping centres to encourage individual entrepreneurs selling domestic goods by reducing their rental costs," said the Deputy Minister.
"Everything is in place for individual entrepreneurs to actively use goods from our manufacturers in their assortment: all documentation, all necessary certificates are readily available from manufacturers. But what was the result? Do you think anyone started working actively? The business community simply did not respond to the proposal. And you cannot resolve any problem unilaterally," believes Irina Narkevich.
She recalled that recently the wording of what constitutes a "brand store" has changed in Belarusian legislation. Previously, such retail outlets could only be established by manufacturers for direct sales. "But we understand that nowadays other retail forms are developing worldwide – both franchising and related agreements for the transfer of intellectual property rights. So, individual entrepreneurs need some impetus. 2016 will arrive very quickly, and during this transitional period, we need to show individual entrepreneurs what else they can do besides trading "grey" imports. But we cannot leave them alone with their problems. We need to help them find their way," stated the Deputy Minister.
According to her, small boutiques opened under franchise agreements, based on intellectual property transfer agreements, could operate quite successfully, especially in small settlements. "We are ready to hold seminars with the business community, to explain what franchise agreements are, because we understand that people need to be trained. Small businesses need to be given new knowledge, as individual entrepreneurs do not have staff, no lawyers, no economists. They are on their own. And what were incubators and entrepreneurship centers created for at one time? For training. This topic is important. I hope individual entrepreneurs will begin to reorient themselves to new operating standards. They do not have much time left for this," added Irina Narkevich.
The Deputy Minister of Trade also believes that entrepreneurs trading in light industry goods should be more actively involved in the production sector, especially concerning small batches: "This is a global practice. Mass production is good, as it leads to the cheaper cost of some products, but small sewing workshops producing batches of 300-700 items are also needed. So, when the President calls on small businesses to become more actively involved in the process, it is meant that they should not only sell mass-produced goods but also work with small batches. Our business communities should more actively encourage individual entrepreneurs to seek out these new niches, because January 1, 2016, will come – and what then? There will again be leftovers, and misunderstanding will arise again."
News of Belarus (BELTA)