Lukoil expands non-fuel offer with new convenience store design

Lukoil wants to be the dominant petroleum convenience operator but with competition from Bashneft, Tatneft and Rosneft, how can Russia's largest independent company improve on its current position and attract a greater number of customers into its stores?

Lukoil look alike

Deep in the far east of Russia near Vladivostok lies a red and white petrol station. At first glance the station appears to be of the market leader Lukoil. Look a bit closer and you realise it’s Oktant. When we asked the attendant if they were a branch of Lukoil we got a ‘Nyet’ and would we mind leaving (not so politely). Ironically the shoLukoil, is your brand of such little value to you that you allow imposters?

The Russians are coming?

Is it sinister that Russian oil companies are expanding westwards or are they merely following the same business model as their western counterparts BP, Shell and Esso?

When Minale Tattersfield redesigned the Lukoil retail identity in 1999 it was implicit that it should have international appeal, be customer centric and be able to compete with the best of the west. So too when the same agency designed retail identities for Rosneft and Gazprom Neft. If that's sinister then so too are all the multi national western oil companies. According to Minale Tattersfield's David Davis, creative director for all three programmes, 'We as consumers can vote with our feet. If we approve of what oil companies serve up both in decorative and more substantive terms, then we should give them our custom. Is that not true democracy?'

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