Russia to Open as Nikken's 35th Country

Introduction

Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of area. It has a total area of 17,075,200 sq km, which is 1.8 times larger than the USA. The population is 143,782,338 according to latest estimates published in July 2004. It is a country undergoing great change, for example the latest constitution was adopted on 12 th December 1993. This means that a lot of the way of life, which western societies take for granted, is still being developed. Life in the city, especially Moscow, is very different to life in the country or on the east coast of Russia. The recent changes to the politics and economy have not spread everywhere in the country. The financial crisis of 1998, where many banks collapsed and millions of people lost money, still causes a lot of distrust in institutions. The business climate is very different from either the US or Western European practices. Reliance is still on official contracts, original signatures on nearly everything, lots of paperwork and formal bureaucracy. For some this may seem like a step back in time to before the electronic age most of us are now experiencing.

History

Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17 th century, a new Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under Peter I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communists under Vladimir Lenin seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The rule of Josef Stalin (1928-53) strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernise Communism. His initiatives released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into 15 independent republics.

Industry

Network marketing (or direct selling) is an established practice in Russia. Many companies have been successful, attracting large numbers of distributors and provoking inward investment in the country. As in many other countries in Europe there have been a few companies who have started and failed, leaving behind them a trail of people who lost money.

Location

Nikken will have a pick up centre near the Novokuznetskaya and Tretiakovskaya subway station in Moscow. The pick up centre will have:

The training and meeting rooms can be reserved by distributors free of charge by contacting the receptionist in the pick up centre. Leadership Development Training (LDT) will take place in the training room. Each time the LDT takes place, the training room will not be available for other activities during that week.

Sponsoring

To sponsor a distributor, you need three forms. They are:

Application form : This has the distributor’s personal details and agreement to purchase a sales kit. Also payment for the sales kit must be attached to the application form (see payment methods).

Agreement form : By signing this form, the distributor agrees to keep to the policies and procedures set out in the form.

Service agreement : This details the service fees paid to distributors. By signing this form the distributor agrees to be paid according to the marketing plan. The distributors must be registered with the tax authorities if they wish to receive payments from the company. Nikken cannot process the service agreement without this registration.

All forms will be in Russian.

The application form and agreement form are combined as one document in pdf format on ‘Info on Demand’ on eNikken.

Opening Hours

The Moscow pick up centre will initially be open from 10.00am until 9.00pm from Monday to Friday. The office will be open for telephone orders from 9.30am until 6.30pm Monday to Friday.

Ordering Procedure

In person

There will be terminals in the pick up centre where distributors can place orders. Assistance is available if training or clarification is needed. When the order is placed payment is made either directly in the pick up centre using a debit card or by depositing money into Nikken’s bank account. Once payment is complete, the distributor will be given an order number and the order will be picked. When the order is ready, the distributor is notified and the order can be collected from the pick up counter.

Please note that some items are delivery only. Currently the only product that cannot be collected is any size KenkoDream ™ Deluxe mattress. Delivery in the Moscow area can be arranged for the following day after 5.00pm.

By Phone

Orders can be placed by telephone from anywhere in Russia. Please have the distributor ID and the required item codes ready. The Distributor Services agent will take your order and confirm the order number and total cost, including shipping and taxes. Payment for the order must be done by bank transfer, using the order number as a reference. Once payment has been received, the order will be shipped. Remember that Russia is a large country and the order may take from two days to three weeks to get to the distributor. Delivery times will be advised when the order is taken and these can be seen on the website.

Payment Methods

Payment is either by debit card or bank transfer. Cash will not be accepted in the pick up centre. There are three bank branches within a five-minute walk from the offices. The nearest bank is in the same office complex as Nikken.

Debit card is the fastest and most easy way to pay – payment clears within a few seconds. Bank transfers can take 15 minutes to two weeks depending on the bank used and its location in Russia. We have a bank account open with Sber bank. It has over 1,000 branches throughout Russia, millions of customers and is backed by a government bond. Though electronic banking does exist, it is not widely used. Most of the banks clear payments by sending the banking slips to a central branch for processing. Only then does it appear on our account.

Please be aware that orders cannot be fully processed until funds are received. The points will not appear on the distributor’s account until the order is processed. Given the payment systems in place, allow plenty of time for the order payment and do not allow it to affect qualification deadlines.

Service Fees

For many legal and fiscal reasons we have to call commissions and bonuses “service fees”. Any reference to commissions have been removed from Russian literature and replaced with “service fees payable according to the marketing plan”. Please use these terms and do not teach Russian distributors to use the terms bonuses or commissions.

To receive a service fee the distributor must sign a service agreement and give Nikken a copy of their tax registration. The service fee payments will be generated between 10 th and 15 th each month. To receive payments, each distributor will have to sign an “acceptance act” for every payment. This is a statement showing the amount to be paid. Payments cannot be made until the distributor has returned the acceptance act with their original signature.

For people in the Moscow areas the acceptance acts can be picked up from the office, signed and immediately handed back to Nikken staff for payment processing. For those outside Moscow we are trying to arrange a central location in major cities where these acceptance acts can be signed and returned to Nikken in the most efficient way.

Marketing Materials

The sales kit will contain product brochures, sleep brochures, order forms, application forms, service agreement forms, distributor agreement forms, product DVD, HBM training forms and a basic training manual. All of the sales kit items will be available for individual purchase. All marketing materials will be in Russian.

Products

Initially, focus will be on the magnetic and far-infrared product technologies. These technologies have been the foundation for Nikken for nearly 30 years. Both the US and European markets were successfully started using this range. The new technologies we currently have will be launched in Russia at a later date. This does give the market an enormous amount of products to choose from and will keep the excitement going for a long time.

Application Forms

The application and agreement forms are now uploaded onto eNikken. These documents are combined into one pdf for ease of distribution. Please ensure that the copies with original signatures are given to Nikken. Failure to do so will delay processing the application.

Wellness Application Form

Pricing

Prices will be published in “conventional units” or cu. This is normal in many Russian businesses as a way of ensuring a fair price during times when the Rouble was not stable. An exchange rate will be published every month so the prices can be converted to Roubles. Payment to Nikken must be made in Roubles. For January and February the exchange rate will be 30. For example, 100cu will be 3,000 Roubles.

Banking Details

Below are the banking details (in English and Russian) needed to deposit money for sales kits and orders:

Name of the bank

Donskoye OSB division №7813 of Sberbank Russia

 

OPERU Moscow GTU Bank of Russia

 

 

Account in RUR

.40702810038110106944

 

 

BIC

.044525225

 

 

Correspondent account

.30101810400000000225

 

 

НАЗВАНИЕ БАНКА

Донское отделение №7813 Сбербанка России

 

в ОПЕРУ Московского ГТУ Банка России

 

 

Рублевый счет

.40702810038110106944

 

 

БИК

.044525225

 

 

Корреспондирующий счет

.30101810400000000225

 

 

Travel to Russia

For most people a visa is required to enter Russia. There are two basic types – tourist and business. The type you need depends on how many times you expect to visit Russia and the length of stay. Please check with your travel agent or Russian embassy before you travel. Nikken cannot help with any visa inquiries or applications.

Humans Being More Training

The first HBM training will take place in the Russian office on 12 th and 13 th February 2005. Places will be limited and priority will be given to Russian citizens. The training will be in Russian language only. The price per person is 100cu (3,000 Roubles). HBM training forms will be available on 14 th January.