Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 16, 1993 TAG: 9307160169
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MOSCOW LENGTH: Medium
The makers of the elegant automobile unveiled the first Rolls showroom in downtown Moscow on Thursday to "oohs" and "aahs" from models, ambassadors and paparazzi, while armed guards in camouflage kept a watchful eye over the gala affair.
"This is fantastic," gushed Angelika Shitko, 23, between sips of champagne. Decked out in a pink suit, she said she was the guest of a Rolls-Royce employee.
British-based Rolls-Royce is the latest automaker hoping to capture a piece of the burgeoning Russian market. But it will start slowly, showcasing only three new models in the showroom.
"There is pent-up demand," said Peter Terian, president of Rolls-Royce of Moscow. "For 70 years there were no luxury goods. Now people want to buy things and spend money."
Sleek foreign cars have become the symbol of success for Russians anxious to flaunt their new wealth.
In the former Soviet Union, people had to wait years to buy a car produced by Soviet manufacturers. The few foreign cars on the road almost always belonged to Westerners.
Now Russians have gone car-crazy. Thousands of Mercedes-Benzs, BMWs and Volvos careen down Moscow's pockmarked streets. Automobile exhibitions, the first of which appeared last year after an eight-decade lapse, draw thousands of eager consumers.
"Four Wheel Drive," Russia's first four-color glossy magazine aimed at car lovers, hits the newsstands next week.
Last year, 300,000 imported cars were registered in Russia, more than double the amount reported in 1991, according to government figures.
James Walker, general director of the year-old Trinity Motors, which sells Cadillacs, Chevrolets and Pontiacs, said five times as many foreign cars grace the country's torn-up roads as last year.
"There are some wildly successful entrepreneurs here," he explained, adding that some customers plunk down cash for their car of choice.
Unlike most of its competitors, Rolls-Royce has a history here.
Lenin had a Rolls customized with special treading on the back wheels for Russia's harsh winters. Another is memorialized inside a museum near Red Square.
Rolls-Royce hopes to gain new customers in Russia, as it has been hit hard by the global economic slump. Last year's sales fell to 1,378 - from 3,333 in 1990, said George Keller, senior executive for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars International.
Terian said the decision to open up shop in Moscow was based on a gut feeling, rather than market research. His company expects to sell 15 to 24 cars in the first year, despite sticker prices as high as $207,000 for the Silver Spur.
"If a Rolls was good enough for Lenin," he reckoned, "it is good enough for Russians."
by CNB