Expanding into new markets
Country:Russia
We assisted a German pharmaceutical company in establishing a subsidiary in Russia, including opening bank accounts, hiring four employees, subleasing fully equipped office space and providing a temporary General Director, among other tasks.
Customer
The challenge
A German pharmaceutical manufacturer was selling its cold medicines in the Russian market through a local distributor, a pharmaceutical company, which oversaw sales and marketing and liaised with the regulatory authorities.
After a while, the manufacturer decided to open its own subsidiary in Russia and terminate the distribution relationship.
It was of the utmost importance to the manufacturer to:
- Ensure a smooth transition from the distribution relationship to organising its own sales
- To preserve market share
- Guarantee the availability of its pharmaceuticals in pharmacies in autumn and winter.
To do this, the company had to:
- Buy back stock from the distributor and move it to a licensed warehouse
- Take steps towards ensuring uninterrupted supplies of its products to local clients
- Organise and finance a marketing campaign before the autumn-winter period
The solution
SCHNEIDER GROUP experts helped the German manufacturer to establish a subsidiary in Russia and opened bank accounts for the subsidiary. We hired four new employees , who were legally employed by SCHNEIDER GROUP but worked for the customer on the Employer of Record scheme. These employees actively supported the transition process to the creation of a subsidiary. We also provided a legal address for company registration purposes and a fully equipped office space for the employees.
We provided an interim General Director, who ensured that the new subsidiary was administered in accordance with the German head office's directions from the start. In parallel with the foundation of the subsidiary, we provided legal support for the transportation of product residues to the warehouse and ensured that the customer's medications continued to be sold and promoted.
A SCHNEIDER GROUP subsidiary purchased the remaining items from the distributor and distributed them to pharmacy chains through an agent with a pharmaceutical licence. The use of SCHNEIDER GROUP's contract arrangements allowed the company to optimise payments linked to the transfer of residual products by balancing the former distributor's liabilities against the company. We assisted our customer throughout the process, which included the preparation of required contracts, negotiations with all parties involved and subsequent actions.
While the customer’s subsidiary was being set up, SCHNEIDER GROUP experts also prepared marketing campaign contracts, which were negotiated and paid for by a subsidiary of ours.
The result
SCHNEIDER GROUP not only assisted the manufacturer in establishing its own business in Russia, but also actively supported them during a risky transitional period. The distributor's remaining stock was sold, the medicines arrived in pharmacies during the cold season and the sales-supporting marketing campaign was run successfully.