"First of all, this quality fuel and uniform standards for the provision of a unified set of services"

In just a year, gas stations under the Gazpromneft brand have literally burst into the ranks of the most popular gas stations among motorists. Alexander Krylov, director of Gazprom Neft for regional sales, talks about why this brand attracts customers.

Just over a year ago, a large-scale program to rebrand the network of your gas stations was launched. What is its purpose?

In fact, the complex process of creating a new brand began back in 2007, and in September last year the project entered an active phase - introducing the brand at the company's gas stations. The fact is that just a couple of years ago, the network of our gas stations was a set of multi-format enterprises, and even under different signs - “Sibneft”, “Slavneft”, EPetrol, “Alliance”, “Novosibirsknefteproduct”. The task was to unify them, to bring them to uniform standards of work, fuel quality, and pricing rules. In short, to create a unified network of gas stations under a global brand. Therefore, as part of the rebranding, the stations are also being modernized: standard formats of filling complexes, modern standards of personnel work, and other components are being introduced.

It was reported that this project cost the company approximately 7 billion rubles. What does the money go to?

The average cost of rebranding one gas station is about 8 million rubles. This includes re-registration appearance stations, store refurbishment, repair or replacement of fuel dispensers, security systems... As a rule, gas stations with high sales potential undergo a complete reconstruction.

What is your network of gas stations like as a whole?

The dynamics are as follows: as of January 1, 2008, 770 stations were in operation, a year later there were 864, by the beginning of 2010 - 969, and by September of this year the number of gas stations had already reached 994. Of these, 819 are located in 20 regions of Russia, another 175 are operating in the CIS countries: Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan. The company's retail network is also represented in Serbia, although under the NIS brand. We plan to double the number of stations in the next five years. The development of the network is aimed at expanding the coverage area throughout the European part of Russia, and primarily along the main federal highways, as well as in certain regions beyond the Urals. The presence abroad will also be expanded.

By what standards do Gazpromneft gas stations open?

The requirements are the highest - both in terms of the quality of placement and the format of the stations themselves. For example, most often there is a cafe and a store, in which, by the way, we offer a number of our other products. In particular, a wide range of motor and transmission oils of the latest G-Family family. The availability of a car wash and other services depends on a number of factors: area, demand for these services, profitability. The fact is that we work in a very serious and complex business, it involves high risks and is designed for a long-term return on investment. On average, investments in the construction of one gas station amount to 50-60 million rubles, excluding VAT. And payback is achieved only after seven to eight years with a sales volume of at least 4,000 tons of fuel per year. With lower indicators, the project will most likely turn out to be unprofitable.

Who supplies your gas stations with fuel? How is its quality controlled?

The main supplier of fuel to all of the company’s stations, with the exception of those in Belarus, is Gazprom Neft. Purchases from third-party suppliers for sale in Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are rare and can be carried out, as a rule, only when scheduled maintenance work is carried out at the company’s refineries. In Belarus, our supplier is the state enterprise Belarusneft. As for the quality of fuel, there is a multi-level system for checking it. This includes incoming control of petroleum products upon arrival at the oil depot in a certified laboratory, and acceptance control in each fuel tanker when delivering fuel to a gas station, and monthly checks at each gas station by a mobile laboratory, and control analysis of individual samples in a certified stationary laboratory. Plus mandatory monthly quality control by a mobile laboratory in fuel trucks leaving oil depots. By the way, all our fuel trucks are equipped with route tracking systems, so it is impossible to leave it anywhere.

How serious is the competition in the fuel retail market?

Her level is very high. Judge for yourself: in Russia there are 0.65 gas stations per thousand cars, while in Poland this figure is 0.35, in France - 0.32, in Germany - 0.3. Only in the USA, where large oil companies consider this segment uninteresting for themselves, the saturation of gas stations is 0.67. At the same time, a clear trend of consolidation of the retail petroleum products market is visible in Russia. If in 2005 vertically integrated oil companies controlled 37% of sales, now they account for about 50% of sales. Our position is particularly strong in Western Siberia, Sverdlovsk region, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. We are also actively developing a network in St. Petersburg and plan, after rebranding and reconstruction of gas stations owned by the Moscow Oil and Gas Company, to occupy a significant share in the market of Moscow and the Moscow region.

Is it difficult to develop business in regions where local firms have a strong position?

The potential for building new gas stations is severely limited almost everywhere. However, the presence of independent players in the regions opens up opportunities for development through their absorption. And we are not afraid of competition with local brands, since we are convinced that the federal brand of a large oil company is more attractive to consumers. This is confirmed by statistics.

What, in your opinion, is the main competitive advantage of your stations?

First of all, these are high-quality fuel and uniform standards for providing a unified set of services. People know that when they stop by any Gazprom Neft gas station, they are guaranteed to receive quality service and that they will be greeted by qualified and friendly staff. In addition, we rely on European-level infrastructure. Many of our stations have shops and cafes open and may offer additional services: tire inflation, washing, service station, tire fitting. Finally, an important advantage is the provision of affordable competitive prices at gas stations, taking into account the purchasing power of the population in a particular region.

Is it difficult to steal customers from other brands?

It is difficult to lure away a loyal customer. But in our country, even within the same network of gas stations, not all operators provide decent quality of fuel and service. This allows us to count on our competitive advantages: Gazpromneft pays special attention to the quality of services and products.

What client programs do you use?

At all Gazpromneft gas stations in Russia, the federal bonus program “On Our Way” operates. When purchasing goods and services at our gas stations, the participant receives a discount, which is taken into account on his card in the form of points. The accumulated bonuses can be spent on goods and services provided by our network. There are already over half a million such people in Russia. But this is only the first step. In the future we plan to develop this program and expand the capabilities of cardholders within the framework of co-branding projects. Customers will also be able to receive and spend bonuses, for example, in supermarkets, service stations, beauty salons, and sports clubs. We will continue to hold promotions with the possibility of receiving additional gifts and bonuses. For example, this year the most active participants in the “On Our Path” program won SUVs and other valuable prizes.

What is the situation on the retail motor fuel market today?

I would say that the situation is not easy. The market has changed: since the end of last year it has been behaving atypically. It was during the period that has always been the most profitable for retail - and this is the last and first quarters - that this year the margin went to its peak. Literally. We did not have a loss in retail even in the first, most difficult, quarter. But, to be honest, we didn’t make much money. I regard the current situation more as a reason to mobilize and a kind of test. This is why we changed the sales business organization model so that we could work in any market conditions.

What happened? Why did the market change so dramatically?

The market is changing primarily due to the amount of petroleum products. This year there is less product on the market. Why did this happen? Because several factors played simultaneously. Firstly, the next stage of introducing the tax maneuver has begun. Russian refineries for the most part have undergone modernization and increased the depth of refining. But there are still factories in the country where the share of fuel oil in the total balance of petroleum products reaches 40%. For them, the new round has become critical - processing has become unprofitable. They began to reduce production for the domestic market. Exporting - no matter crude oil or diesel - has become more profitable for them.

All this happened against the backdrop of a number of factories leaving for planned repairs and reconstruction. But if the market was ready for the planned reduction in volumes - reserves were created in advance and measures were taken to replenish the lost resource, then it was not for additional ones.

There is less product on the market. The wholesale price has increased. Retail margins have collapsed. The increase in excise tax on fuel has aggravated the situation.

Do you think this will last long?

I think whether it lasts or not is not of fundamental importance. Marginality in retail is generally low. We proceed from this. For example, in both the United States and Europe, retail gasoline margins have not exceeded 6–8% for a long time. This is off the top of my head. In Russia, last year the retail gasoline margin averaged 11%. This year we can say we are closer to the international standard. But here it is important to understand that margin is not income. This, roughly speaking, is the difference between the purchase price and the selling price to the end consumer. It covers all direct and indirect costs incurred by the gas station. At best, the profit of the retail business is 2–2.5%. This is if we are talking about EBITDA margin.

A natural question arises: is this 2% worth the money and effort that an oil company spends on developing its own retail network? Still, retail is not the main business of vertically integrated oil companies.

We don’t pose this question to ourselves. You understand, we have continuous production. If there is no sales, production stops. And our own retail network is, first of all, a guaranteed sales channel. In America, oil companies have just come to the conclusion that 2% is not a reason to maintain their own retail chain. Therefore, they ultimately abandoned their own retail. But they could afford it. Because they can guarantee constant sales with long, ten-year contracts with the owners of sales points.

But in Europe the situation is different. There are stricter antitrust regulations. In the European Union, for example, the length of exclusive contracts for the supply of fuel to dealers is limited to five years, as far as I remember. Therefore, in order to guarantee constant sales, an oil company needs to own stations. Even where large hypermarkets such as Carrefour and Tesco entered the fuel market and actually deprived them of profitability in the retail segment. In order to compete at least somehow, oil companies had to seriously work on the efficiency of their own retail networks.

In Russia, which scenario seems most likely to you?

I'm not ready to speak for the entire market. For ourselves, we see the solution in finding a balance between the guarantee of constant sales and the costs associated with ensuring it. Our task is to sell the maximum volume at minimum costs. This problem is solved at several levels. Firstly, at the level of organizational and management decisions. This is when costs are reduced, for example, by outsourcing station maintenance functions. And additional traffic and income are generated through the development of the non-fuel component - a cafe, a store, and so on. The next level is more subtle. To manage costs and attract additional traffic, we use an affiliate resource. The next level is digital. This is the creation of a unified technological platform for all sales. We used almost all the resources for organizational and management decisions. We are now getting close to working with partners and creating a sales platform.

What do you mean by working with partners?

I mean involving partners in the operational management of our own stations. After the reorganization, we see profitability not just in each channel. We see the profitability of each facility - that is, each individual gas station. And the reasons why one station has high profitability and another has low profitability. This gives us the opportunity to calculate the optimal operating model for each station - depending on location, traffic and market. These are already fine settings. There is a pool of stations that operate as efficiently as possible under our own control. There are stations that will be more efficient if they are switched to automatic mode. And there are stations for which the optimal solution is to hand them over to a partner for operational management.

This approach to managing a pool of own stations is a generally accepted world practice. This is exactly the path that European oil companies took in their time. For example, BP itself operates only a third of its stations. The remaining stations are operated by partners.

How exactly do you plan to involve partners?

We have chosen three basic models for working with partners. The station is transferred to the dealer's control. The station is transferred to the management of a professional retailer. The station is transferred to the operational management of an individual entrepreneur. Each model has its own nuances. But everyone has the same principle. The company manages the revenue part - fuel supplies, and the partner manages the expenditure part - the operation of the gas station. The partner is directly interested in both the growth of pumping and the reduction of operating costs. Because his income depends on it. We have been running pilot projects since 2014. We are pleased with the result. Let's see what the effect of scaling will be. In any case, we are not going to transfer all our stations to partners. Only those that the partner can manage better than we can, for one reason or another.

Are there any concerns that partners will not be able to meet the company’s quality standards for service and the product itself? It’s not for nothing that they say - if you want to do it well, do it yourself...

We reserve control over the quality of fuel and service. This is not even discussed. All partners are given a strict condition - they must comply with our internal operating standards.

We control all stations that operate under the Gazpromneft gas station network brand in the same way, according to a single corporate standard. Regardless of who manages them - us or a partner.

This begs another question: the company has a very well developed competency in “managing related businesses” and has its own successful non-fuel brand. Why do you need a professional retailer? Is there a contradiction or even a conflict of interest here?

There is no contradiction. There are two complementary stories. A professional retailer working in the industry, in any case, has greater capabilities and competencies in organizing the work of a store than an oil company. It can qualitatively change the supply of goods at the station. And this means additional traffic and additional liters of product sold. We don’t hand over all stations to retailers for management. Only those whose location allows the store at a gas station to be converted into a “convenient store” format with an expanded assortment of goods, including fresh products. We can do this on our own. The question is why. A professional will do it better and at a lower cost. This is the first thing.

So you think that the future in fuel retail lies in the development of the non-fuel component of the business?

Non-fuel business is a particular thing. The key story is different. We started the conversation with the fact that fuel retail is a low-margin business. Its profitability directly depends on how effectively the company manages costs. Therefore, the future - it is obvious - lies in a solution that will reduce costs several times over. And I believe that there is such a solution - this is a sales platform. We have a manufacturer - an oil company. There is a product. There is a consumer. There is a filling point. There are partners and other interested parties. The platform I'm talking about is a digital platform where any market participant instantly receives the solution he needs. The consumer receives the product under certain conditions. Partner - agreement to manage the station. Third-party gas station - contract for fuel supply. And so on. And the oil company - the owner of the platform - gets sales. At the same time, volumes grow multiple times - due to the speed and number of transactions. And the costs are minimal.

We have all the main components of the business component of the sales platform. Actually, these are all our businesses - not only retail, but also small wholesale, corporate sales, delivery, storage, transshipment, and quality control. The technological component is more difficult - after all, the degree of automation and penetration of digital technologies is needed very high. But we are already working on this.

So here it is. Once we integrate the business and technology components into a single ecosystem and provide access to it from the outside, we will create a sales platform. Once we create it, we will change the landscape of the market. I am convinced of this. Because this is a completely different level of cost control. Now unattainable.

Search by " Krylov Gazprom Neft". Results: Gazprom - 2424, Krylov - 138, Neft - 2239.

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1. How did the St. Petersburg oil business begin? ...who is accused today of Vladimir Kumarin (Barsukov), and Alexander Krylov- current head of the regional sales department " Gazprom oil" Alexander Krylov in response to a request from Novaya Gazeta, he confirmed that he was the founder of the Petrobuild company, “engaged in real estate management projects,” and that he was familiar with Dmitry Skigin and Sergei Vasiliev - they “implemented joint projects within the framework of Petrobuild.” Krylov also explained that the activities of Petrobild, “like any...
Date: 04/15/2011 2. Oil on seven hills. Ivan Krylov, Swan, crayfish and pike” The tangle of problems around the Moscow Refinery is not surprising. It's a very attractive asset. The plant provides 55% of fuel supplies in the Moscow region. And Moscow is the largest fuel market: there are the most cars here, the most effective demand, the three largest airports in the country (jet fuel is also produced by refineries). Well, in general, the plant is the seventh largest in the country, producing 10 million tons of petroleum products per year. This is a lot. Gas stations BP, Tatneft, " Gazprom oil", MTK...
Date: 09/12/2007 3. Contracts for the speaker. For example, many years ago we started with small deliveries to companies " Gazprom", and in 2008 they won a tender to rebrand the network " Gazprom oil"We are building a gas station. ***
... Ave., 22-24, emb. Fontanka River, 46, lane. Krylova, 3, and at other addresses in the central regions of St. Petersburg. Change of specialization and creation of a successful partnership between Petrostroy and Gazprom"coincide in time with the election of Vyacheslav Makarov as speaker...
Date: 10/27/2014 4. What will the “National Report” be about? If we take developed countries, then, say, production oil And natural resources, in general, there is not much to see there.
dollars, which is payable in 2004, as well as corporate debts for which claims may be brought against the state (ALROSA, Gazprom, Yukos, etc.).
Date: 04/05/2004

Search by " Krylov Gazprom". Results: Gazprom - 2424, Krylov - 138.

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1. Made money from sanctions. Department 335 was headed by Vladimir Kartashyan’s former subordinate at GSTS, who later became its general director, Pavel Krylov, 32 years old. Nothing funny - everything is logical. New tasks - new people - new solutions. True, the solutions turned out to be old, in the spirit of the 90s. There is an opinion that the only innovation of the GSTS in the field of import substitution was an additional markup (30–40%) on all supplies of MTK. According to the contractors " Gazprom", for the polymer geogrid we had to pay approximately 35% extra, for...
Date: 11/11/2019 2. Putin’s “orderlies” did not justify their appointment. Even earlier, before Zolotov, another FSO employee, Sergei Lukash, who became deputy chairman back in 2001, received an important appointment from Putin. Gazprom».
Krylov refused to talk to the Project.
Date: 11/21/2019 3. The Rotenberg brothers from Israel “divorced” business in Russia. The Rotenberg brothers from Israel "divorced" Axelrod's business in Russia from " Gazprom"They "threw" for an investment ($8 million), Sechin from St. Petersburg - for a building (€40 million), Filippova from Samara - for land (800 million rubles). The original of this material © "Kommersant", 11/17/2014 ...
After this, Levitin, the Rotenberg brothers, Skulsky and their accomplices Valery Zuev (on an Israeli passport Valeri Zoev), Vladimir Vetrov and Andrey Krylov During further meetings, they convinced Mr. Filippov that in order to simplify the procedure for selling land...
Date: 11/17/2014 4. Dacha with a view of the president. ... holding state events,” and such transactions relate “to the usual lawful practice carried out within the framework of the execution of the Administration of the President’s Affairs of its powers,” explained Elena, Advisor to the Presidential Administrator, in her response Krylova ...
... and several residential buildings of 131–156 sq. m. m. Before the announcement of the sanctions list in 2014, the co-owners of SOGAZ were the structures of Rossiya Bank of Yuri Kovalchuk, Volga Group of Gennady Timchenko, “ Gazprom"and Putin's cousin - ?Mikhail Shelomov...
Date: 07/14/2016 5. How the St. Petersburg oil business began. ...who is accused today of Vladimir Kumarin (Barsukov), and Alexander Krylov- current head of the regional sales department " Gazprom oil." Alexander Krylov in response to a request from Novaya Gazeta, he confirmed that he was the founder of the Petrobuild company, “engaged in real estate management projects,” and that he was familiar with Dmitry Skigin and Sergei Vasiliev - they “implemented joint projects within the framework of Petrobuild.” Krylov also explained that the activities of Petrobild, “like any...
Date: 04/15/2011 6. Milestones of the long journey: from Sofia Vlasevna to Vladimir Vladimirovich. Original of this material © The New Times, 04/19/2010, Photo: "Kommersant" Milestones of the long journey: from Sofya Vlasyevna to Vladimir Vladimirovich The gas monopoly has turned into a political instrument "Sofya Vlasyevna" in dissident language - Soviet power Oksana Gavshina, Dmitry Dokuchaev, Dmitry Krylov Alexey Miller and Vladimir Putin (in the background) " Gazprom"began as an economic experiment of the Soviet government.
Date: 04/20/2010 7. St. Petersburg criminal-police octopus. Sources in the intelligence services confirmed that questions about the appointment to the position in " Gazprom“and its subsidiaries, Tsepov actually decided through the deputy chairman of the board for security of the gas monopolist Sergei Lukash.
...for him to undergo a medical examination, however Krylov began to explain to Makovoz that he has a special team and in any case he (the investigator) will conduct this medical examination. Then the investigator Krylov said that he (Makovoz) needed...
Date: 03/11/2011 8. Oil on seven hills. Ivan Krylov, Swan, crayfish and pike” The tangle of problems around the Moscow Refinery is not surprising. It's a very attractive asset. The plant provides 55% of fuel supplies in the Moscow region. And Moscow is the largest fuel market: there are the most cars here, the most effective demand, the three largest airports in the country (jet fuel is also produced by refineries). Well, in general, the plant is the seventh largest in the country, producing 10 million tons of petroleum products per year. This is a lot. Gas stations BP, Tatneft, " Gazprom oil", MTK...
Date: 09/12/2007 9. Contracts for the speaker. ... construction of boiler houses and networks within the framework of the program of Petersburgteploenergo LLC (“subsidiary” Gazprom Teploenergo") to modernize the heat supply system. Thus, Petrostroy was the contractor for the construction of gas boiler houses and heating networks at 22-24 Nevsky Prospekt, emb. Fontanka River, 46, lane. Krylova, 3, and at other addresses in the central regions of St. Petersburg. Change of specialization and creation of a successful partnership between Petrostroy and Gazprom» coincides in time with the election of Vyacheslav Makarov as speaker of the Legislative Assembly - this is...
Date: 10/27/2014 10. Leonid Lebedev was found in the energy business. But TKS was unable to pay the rent and went bankrupt in 2012, leaving behind a debt for gas supplies to “ Gazprom Mezhregiongaz Tver" in 2.7 billion rubles. At the end of 2015, Korolev was put on the wanted list. From this case, after Lonicera’s appeal, a new case against Lebedev was separated into a separate proceeding, Vedomosti’s source knows. Another thing referred to Krylov, was considered in the Arbitration Court of Yaroslavl (see inset).
Date: 09/22/2016 11. If you don’t know how, they will teach you. “With the help of informal methods of coercion on the part of the authorities, businessmen begin to engage in projects that otherwise would not have paid any attention to” © “Company”, 04/30/2007 If you don’t know how, Andrey will teach Krylov Manage the economy in...
According to unofficial data, Kremlin officials considered Vladimir Potanin, Roman Abramovich and the same “Kommersant” as the new owner. Gazprom».
Date: 05/02/2007 12. Floating nuclear power plants: the “lame duck” of Rosatom. Uranium pontoon near the Fogo volcano Specialists of the Academician Central Research Institute Krylova in St. Petersburg (Complex science center world shipbuilding.
– Even “ Gazprom“- continues Sergey Krysov. – Gazprom management considers it possible to use floating nuclear power plants to supply energy for the production and transport of hydrocarbons on the shelf of the northern seas and...
Date: 06.28.2007 13. Dummies and “pyramids”. Russia has fertile soil for building “pyramids” Andrey Krylov The MMM cause lives on and often wins.
According to him, you don’t have to look far for examples - almost all large Russian companies, such as LUKOIL, “ Gazprom"and dozens of others, are traded with a P/E ratio significantly exceeding 10. Hand from Rio de Janeiro Low investment attractiveness...
Date: 03/20/2007 14. What will the “National Report” be about? dollars, which is payable in 2004, as well as corporate debts for which claims may be brought against the state (ALROSA, Gazprom, Yukos, etc.).
The proposed administrative reform resembles a fable Krylova"Quartet".
Date: 04/05/2004 15. Nemtsov’s large plates In two hours I will be in Gazprom Lisovsky.
And there is also Larisa Krylova, my co-author.

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Recently, the loyalty program of the Gazpromneft gas station chain was heatedly discussed on the Internet. The company was accused of not giving away its loyalty cards, but selling them. But while the critics were raging, it turned out that since the beginning of the year, more than a million cards of the Gazprom Neft network have been purchased. Lenta.ru spoke with regional sales director Alexander Krylov about the details of the program and what customers really need.

“Lenta.ru”: Even political bloggers have taken advantage of your loyalty program?

Alexander Krylov: It seems to me that they are not loyal to us (laughs). To be honest, I myself was surprised by such attention. We work in conditions of fierce competition, we took a risk, a justified risk, but the consumer might not appreciate our offer. But a million cards sold speaks for itself. And so much noise! Although, probably for the better. This means that with our success we stepped on someone’s sore point.

But let's start from the very beginning. In short, what is the essence of the bonus system at your gas stations?

Can be compared to airline miles. But unlike carrier loyalty programs, when it is not always convenient to exchange miles for tickets, our bonuses are practically real money with which you can make a purchase at any time. The principle is this: you spend money, we return some of it to you as bonuses on the card. You can use them to pay for gas, as well as any goods and services at our gas stations.

So you can spend points on more than just gas?

Gas stations are no longer just a place to fill up with fuel. This is a cafe, a grocery store, a bookstore, and many services from Wi-Fi to tire inflation. And sometimes our gas station is the only oasis of civilization where even birthdays are celebrated.

What does a person buy at a gas station? Is there some kind of “top seller”?

If we talk about related products and services, then coffee is the biggest hit. At one Moscow station we once sold 900 cups of freshly brewed coffee in one day. We were selling a cup of coffee per minute during peak times. In second place are hot dogs, approximately 600 per day. Well, then there are auto products under our own brand.

Can you pay with points at any gas station?

On all except automatic ones. But now equipment is being configured at automatic gas stations, after which the loyalty card will work there too.

How many gas stations are there in your network?

In Russia there are about 1100, and with the CIS countries - more than 1400.

And what percentage of the money spent do you return?

From three to five. If you take it over a year, you get a decent amount. Over the past year, we returned more than six billion rubles from cards in the form of bonuses. Loyalty really costs us dearly. But for clients this is a real, not a mythical benefit. The record for a family, in my opinion, is about twenty thousand rubles per year. With this money you can wash your car for free for several months and drink coffee while you wait.

Are related services profitable, or do you chalk them up to marketing?

You are overestimating our marketing budget. Moreover, no amount of coffee or buns will entice you to a gas station if the fuel is bad. We guarantee the quality of fuel from our own refineries, so people come to us, but if they are already here, why not offer them something else.

With proper planning, related products and services should fully cover the wage fund at the gas station, and in some cases, be profitable even without taking into account fuel sales. As for the results, in two years we have grown in this area by almost 50 percent and we even joke that we have one of the largest networks of so-called “convenience stores” in Russia. So it's not just profitable, it's a serious part of the business.

If we return to the question about the bonus program, why are the cards paid?

We are not the only player on the market; the client himself chooses from a variety of offers. Of course, millions of cards can be dealt out, but they would be stacked at home like hundreds of others. If a person buys plastic, we know for sure that our program is in demand. After all, the fact of purchase means that a person will use the product. Of the million who purchased, 85 percent have already made purchases with the new card.

How much does it cost?

150 rubles.

What's the story with having to pay to reissue a card?

This is a distortion of information. I'll explain. We are now offering our customers a completely new product, with an NFC chip and other new options. Old cards are valid, but are no longer sold. So the million sold are cards with a chip. I don't really understand all this noise. We offered the service in conditions of fierce competition with similar projects. The choice is up to the clients. Nevertheless, thanks to the bloggers for their attention, maybe thanks to them we have such results.

Are bonuses reset when switching to a new card?

This is wrong. If something like this happened, it means there was a system failure somewhere, but all these issues are resolved in working order. All points are saved and transferred to the new card.

Please tell us more about the NFC chip.

This contactless technology has allowed us to reduce queuing time by almost ten times. To credit bonuses to old map, it took 30 to 40 seconds. Now it’s only three to five seconds, you just need to bring the card to the terminal and that’s it.

One of the fashionable trends in retail is selling goods under your own brand. When can we expect Gazprom Neft lemonade or Neftyanoe cake?

We will think about your creativity, but for now we prefer our brands G-Drive, Drive Café and Gazpromneft Gas Station Network, under which over 200 products have been sold for three years. For example, in terms of energy, we have long surpassed all competitors.

Various bonus programs, which are now offered in large quantities everywhere, is this one of the signs of the crisis or a new approach to the consumer?

People and companies are now extremely deliberate about their spending. They choose the best at the best price and really analyze all the available offers. Either you offer the buyer the most competitive product, or he will leave. Therefore, loyalty programs are pure market logic, but in a crisis it manifests itself earlier. The business guarantees the quality of fuel and favorable conditions at its gas stations, and customers demonstrate loyalty. As a result, everyone wins.

Will it happen that when the economic situation improves, such programs will have to be forgotten?

I'm sure you won't have to. Strong relationships with clients are serious and long lasting.

What conclusions has your company drawn from the current crisis?

And back in 2008, I realized that the question is not the crisis, but your ability to adapt to new conditions. We are ready for any macroeconomic changes, primarily because we carried out a large-scale reorganization of the sales business, which was completed in 2015. In general, for Russian market it was unique project, no fuel company has ever done this before.

Previously, we were organized on a regional basis, sales channels and service functions were mixed into one pot, and it was almost impossible to determine the effectiveness of each division. During the reorganization, we divided the businesses - for example, one retail company is now responsible for sales to individuals through a network of gas stations throughout the country. And this gave us many advantages - we learned to work more efficiently, understand the market better, and generally became closer to the client. Such adaptability, I am sure, is the main thing that helps in any crisis.