Biznews (#04 April 2015)

Biznews

Interparfums S.A., concluded deal to acquire the Rochas brand

Inter Parfums, Inc. has announced that its majority-owned Paris-based subsidiary, Interparfums S.A., has concluded an agreement with The Procter & Gamble Company to acquire the Rochas brand. This transaction will cover all brand names and registered trademarks for Rochas (Femme, Madame, Eau de Rochas, etc.), mainly for class 3 (cosmetics) and class 25 (fashion).This acquisition will be payable in cash on the closing date for USD 108 million and financed entirely through a medium-term loan. This transaction is expected to be completed within the first half of 2015, subject to customary closing conditions.

 

Philips ranks first among European based companies on EPO ranking

Royal Philips has announced that it is the second largest patent applicant in the world for patents filed at the European Patent Office (EPO). Philips filed 2,317 patent applications in 2014, an increase of 26% compared to 2013 when the company held the third position in the annual ranking, according to the 2014 Patent Applicant Ranking announced by the EPO. Philips is the top European based company on the list, overtaking Siemens which is now the third largest patent applicant worldwide at the EPO. The top 5 further consists of Samsung (1) and LG (4) from Korea and Huawei (5) from China.

Market research of services by pharmaceutical retailers

Because of soaring drug prices in 2014, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine conducted its own research of the retail drugs market. The research targeted major pharmacy chains, domestic producers of drugs, importers and wholesale distributors.

The evaluation of purchasing and marketing policy of wholesale distributors in the period from January till April 2014 revealed numerous instances of unjustified price increases that were ahead of the foreign exchange dynamics.

The AMCU issued its mandatory recommendations for wholesale distributors, namely, obliging them to refrain from setting economically unreasonable wholesale prices for drugs.

In the retail drugs market, the AMCU revealed schemes enabling to increase drug prices through marketing services. More than 450 pharmacy chains, regardless of their ownership, provide to domestic and foreign producers of medical products their marketing services. The cost of such services can make up to 30% of the cost of purchased drugs, which actually is a hidden increase in the trade margin of pharmacies. And in the times of difficulties currently faced by consumers, the existing demand is a resource to abstain from drug price increase. The AMCU issued to producers, importers, marketing organizations and pharmacy chains its mandatory recommendations, including the following: torenegotiate contracts on marketing services that can result in setting economically unreasonable prices, to exclude services that are not directly related to the business of the pharmacy chains, to set a reasonable cost of marketing services at the level of the actual incurred expenses, and to prevent foisting of marketing services.

Kiev turns into the most inexpensive city in Europe

As the Ukrainian Hryvna loses its value, Kiev has moved to the top of the most inexpensive tourist destinations in Europe, as published by www.priceoftravel.com

According to the website, a person can live a day in the Ukrainian capital on just USD 24. This is half the sum needed for a day’s stay in the capital of Russia — Moscow, which is the 20th in the ranking. There one would need to spend USD 48.44 a day. Barcelona in Spain is three times more expensive — USD 60.95 a day. A visit to Zurich, Switzerland would cost USD 124.16 a day. The city is recognized as the most expensive in Europe for tourists.

Totally, the ranking includes 56 European cities. The second, third, fourth and fifth most affordable cities are Bucharest (Romania), Sofia (Bulgaria), Krakow (Poland) and Belgrade (Serbia), where a daily tourist expense would be USD 26.38 — 29.86.

The calculations took into consideration the needs of tourists who travel at their own cost and stay in hostels. They compared cities by the following categories: hostels’ daily price/quality, average prices of public transportation, daily expenses for meals, drinks, and entertainment, as well as the cost of sightseeing. The minimum set of tourist services include a day in a hostel, two trips by  subway, one tour, three meals, and three glasses of beer or a glass of wine.

 

 

 

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