Entering a foreign market: STG’s experience

For 16 years of ongoing work in the Ukrainian market, based on international practices, standards and norms, STG has positioned itself as a leader in establishing a culture of industrial safety, systematically developing and implementing a new approach to the issue of occupational safety.

Today for us to be a player in the international market is a challenge for the company to declare itself as an equal among the best.

We share our insider's experience about STG's entry into the European market.

Polina Dyachenko

Business Development Manager for the European Region

I am responsible personally for STG's entry into the Polish market. My Area of Responsibility is export sales and quality of STG's interaction with foreign customers.

With an extensive background of work with foreign markets (India, Africa, Europe) in the domain of quality control, I understand the importance of a single predictable result in the product and processes as well as in the work with the team and partners.

For me, integrity, quality and consistency are the main pillars for building healthy, trusting and long-lasting relationships with business partners.

Idea creation and first steps on a new market

Based on positive STG distribution experience in Ukraine, the idea of moving the company beyond the local market has been forming for a number of years.

Our manufacturers, providing all-round support and showing the highest trust, have repeatedly acted as a catalyst in the process of the company's progress to the next level.

It was very interesting to enter the market in sense of competition, to interact with the best of the best. To compete as an equal in Europe in points of quality, innovation, and systematic approach is a real challenge!

Understanding how strongly developed the textile industry is in Poland – the garment companies create workwear for the entire Europe – we obviously have to offer not just a product, but a complete intellectual solution, which can meet the needs and specifications of our end users.

From personal experience, it should be noted that Polish companies prefer to work directly with local warehouses, avoiding imports and international shipping procedures.

At the time of entering the Polish market, STG has already set up a logistics center – a warehouse in Rzeszów, which was transformed into an excellent launching pad.

Initially, the company's vector was aimed at establishing cooperation with local sewing companies, interaction with them would give an understanding of the market's open needs.

We had no doubt that companies in Poland pay special attention to employee safety and comfort.

Polish garment companies were quite easy to approach, agreed to meetings and showed interest in further cooperation in the personal communication.

I would like to note that these were companies that focused on the quality and special properties of the product. Cooperation with companies for which price was the primary and most important factor in choosing a fabric, usually did not add up.

If the only thing that matters is the price and not the level of quality of the product, it's a clear sign that we can't find common points of cooperation. It's just a question of different values.

Differences in Polish and Ukrainian markets

The main difference between Polish market and Ukrainian market is that all major companies have their own unified industry-specific standard, which defines norms, requirements and a common approach to safety issues.

And also more people wear workwear, because it is not just a norm, but an established reality with a high level of safety culture.

The second important difference is increased requirements for documentation, certificates confirming the quality and safety of products imported to Poland.

Despite the fact that the Polish baseline security standards are much higher than in Ukraine, it is however worth to pay attention that, from our point of view, some issues remain unresolved and should be improved.

 

Standards for industries that do not have specific protective requirements for protective clothing are simple enough and allow companies to procure cheap lower quality fabric.

Unfortunately, there are players on the market who need to be explained the simple truth – good things can't cost cheap.

While the usage of higher class fabrics allows the company not only to optimize the cost of repair and replacement of workwear, but also to maintain the reputation of an environmentally friendly company that reduces the annual volume of recycled PPE.

Cooperation strategy with Polish market

After careful market research and interaction with garment companies and end-users, we have a clear understanding that we have something to offer this market. We are ready to bring our years of experience with various industries and integrate it into the new environment.

With our established logistics in Poland, our partners will be able to receive the required quantities of fabrics for their production purposes directly from our warehouses throughout the year.

STG provides fabrics exclusively for customer requirements at a competitive price. Based on our extensive experience with production risks, we offer comprehensive solutions as well as assistance in formulating the technical requirements of fabrics.

The process of entering the Polish market by STG is ongoing. We will be pleased to share our experience in the next article.