Page 87 - bne IntelliNews Russia Country report May 2017

government agencies, gazeta.ru reported on May 24. The bill stipulates a fine of up to RUB1mn (€15,750) or blocking for failure to comply.
Moscow mobile phone users spent on average RUB371 (€5.9) a month in 2016, an 11.4% decline year-on-year, the city government's information technology department said in a report quoted by Vedomosti daily on May 26. The decline was caused by the arrival in late 2015 of a new operator, Tele2, which put Moscow in the top three Russia's regions with the cheapest mobile phone services. However, by the end of March 2017, the average mobile phone bill had gone up to RUB410 a month, which corresponded to the 2015 average figure. Currently, Tele2 is responsible for just 6% of the Moscow mobile phone market, and its impact on prices has worn off. According to the report, the Russian capital's mobile phone market in 2016 showed a moderate growth of 2.8% to RUB874bn.
Russia’s media market grew 13% y/y to RUB 92bn in 1Q17, continuing the major trends of 2016. The Association of Russian Advertisers (AKAR) published its Russian media market estimates for 1Q17 on May 4. All segments except print ads increased in 1Q17, continuing the positive dynamics of 2016. TV ads, the largest segment on the Russian media market, was up 10% y/y, in line with the 10% y/y growth in 2016. Radio showed 8% y/y growth, slightly above the 6% y/y increase in 2016. The Out of Home segment, most of which is attributable to outdoor advertisements, grew 12% y/y in 1Q17 and showed much better dynamics than the 6% y/y growth in 2016. Print ads decreased 18% y/y in 1Q17, with the major negative effect coming from the 54% y/y decrease in promos, while the decline in ads in newspapers and magazines saw a significant deceleration from the 2016 trend.
Internet again showed the most rapid growth in the period. According to preliminary estimates from AKAR and IAB Russia, Internet ads grew 23% y/y to RUB 34.5-35.5bn. In 2016, this sector was up 21% y/y. Internet continues to gain marketing budget shares from other media segments and now accounts for 38% of the market (vs. 35% in 1Q16). In 1Q17, Yandex and Mail.ru Group showed ad revenue growth of 23% y/y and 24% y/y, respectively, close to the dynamics for the internet as a whole.
Russia’s Ministry of Finance proposed to begin the legalization of trade in alcohol over the Internet with beers and wines of the protected geographical indication in May. And with the July 2018 online sales will be allowed for all other types of alcohol. This may affect the retail prices.
Multinational beverage and snack maker PepsiCo has announced the launch of a corporate accelerator for local and international startups in Russia . While PepsiCo LAB targets essentially food and beverages projects, its three-month program is also open to startups offering innovative solutions in the fields of CRM, human resource management, sales performance, data mining and analysis, and operation automation. Startups with a prototype and preferably first sales, or otherwise ready for acceleration, may apply until May 31, 2017. Kicking off in July, the program is also supported by Microsoft, IBM and SAP. During the program, 15 selected teams will benefit from mentoring from over 50 industry experts and financial support to launch a pilot. Two parallel tracks — Food LAB and Tech LAB — will be supervised by The best startups will have an opportunity to engage a long-term relationship with PepsiCo and scale up using PepsiCo’s distribution channels both in Russia and abroad. Last year PepsiCo’s revenues amounted to $2.6bn in Russia.
87 RUSSIA Country Report May 2017 www.intellinews.com