Gazprom Brand Accepted in UK Market

Russia’s gas export monopoly can reach its target of 14-15 percent of the UK retail energy market without buying a big supply business.  This situation was brought about because the Gazprom brand is already selling well in Britain, the chief executive of the company’s UK business said on Friday.Up until last year, Gazprom was thought to be considering buying Britain’s largest household energy supplier, Centrica, the owner of British Gas, or another big brand energy supplier with an existing customer base.But so far the company has only bought a small retail business in Manchester and has no plans to buy anything else, Gazprom Marketing and Trading CEO Vitaly Vasiliyev announced to an audience at the London School of Economics.“The decision is taken … We are not buying anything,” he stated. “Gazprom wants to sell gas to the end customer under the Gazprom brand … In the UK we think that’s the right way to go forward … We are not decreasing competition, we are increasing competition.”Although it could easily undercut its competitors to gain more of the market quickly, he said it was more important to grow gradually while maximising profits.Since deciding two years ago to grow its British business organically, sales volumes have quadrupled and its customer numbers have swelled to over 10,000.“The Gazprom brand is working in the UK market,” Vasiliyev said. “The Gazprom brand was accepted.”

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