Russia: New Upmarket Aero Service Stations to be Developed
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Friday, 15 April 2005 |
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Phaeton Holdings which operates the Aero Brand in St Petersburg is to develop a new upmarket service station.
Phaeton holding, which operates 40 service stations in the city, said that it will develop a new chain of 15 "luxury class" gas stations to capture what the company identified as an emerging "premium" segment in the market.
The first such "luxury" service station to operate under the Aero brand name opens on Dalnevostochny Prospekt. Four Aero stations already exist in the city, but have not yet received a face-lift. The next 10 luxury gas stations will open within two years, Phaeton said.
Developed to resemble an airport of the future, the gas stations' design, presented at a news conference by Phaeton, looked like something from a futuristic sci-fi flick.
The Aero chain promises customers sushi bar dining, free Internet use and mobile phone payment processing. Meanwhile, the client's car will be vacuumed, washed, and re-filled with gas by ladies in flight-attendant style uniforms and men in red and blue overalls.
For those in a rush, Phaeton has made available an express lane furnished with a timer-tableau to measure the promptness of the service. According to Sergei Snopok, Phaeton's head of the board of directors, the city service stations market has reached a point where customers are willing to bear a higher price in return for more exclusive service.
He said the company saw the Aero brand as a competitor for the Neste and Shell retail chains, where demand usually exceeds service availability. Although Phaeton said they did not as yet have estimates on the size of their potential market segment, the results of a market research report carried out together with the company's marketing agency Nebo will be complete in two weeks.
Whether futuristic design and luxury service will meet customers' demands could become clearer when the company's market research results are known. Despite Phaeton's hopes that the new service stations could become something of a trendy meeting spot, Zalitis' view seems to be supported by many drivers in the city.
PetrolWorld 150405 (SP.Times)
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