Caucasus Premium Lubricants began preparations for the distribution of ExxonMobil oils 5 years before the brand appeared on the Georgian market. Over the year, we managed to attract more than 100 large companies to cooperation and increase profits by 300% amid the pandemic. How to form a team for successful work, what inspires each employee to grow professionally, and what are the difficulties and advantages of doing business in Georgia, were told by the CEO of the company, Dimitri Zedelashvili, and the director of corporate sales, Archil Chubinidze.
Tell us about the company, how long has it been on the market?
Our company is part of a large holding, which was founded in 1995. Such a long period of business for Georgia is a rare and worthy indicator. I can safely say that for the last 15 years we have been the leader in the Georgian market.
Until 2018, ExxonMobil did not develop its presence in Georgia, although we paid attention to this brand for a long time, since 2013 we began to prepare for its distribution, but every year we received an answer from the European office that they do not plan to develop our region until 2018. When the decision to develop in new territories was made, we contacted ExxonMobil representatives to discuss cooperation. Soon we signed a contract, and this is how our fruitful cooperation began
Mobil is a strong brand and we also position ourselves in the region as one of the best in the premium segment, therefore, with the start of cooperation with Mobil, an effective synergy has arisen in Georgia, which allows us to achieve very good results.
How did the company develop? What difficulties did you face and how did you overcome them?
There were a lot of problems, to be honest. There is no single recipe for overcoming challenges, but I can note that team cohesion plays a very important role and, of course, reliable relationships with partners and suppliers — they supported them in vital moments, and now we are doing our best to make their hopes come true . Our credo with all partners: «business is business, but it starts with personal relationships.»
There is a funny story. In 1995, our holding started a business selling tires in the Little Red Riding Hood complex — that was the name of the toy store where our founder rented a sales department.
In the beginning, he carried all the goods himself in his old Volkswagen. 2 years ago, colleagues found this machine and made a successful marketing campaign about the history of our company and its achievements. Today, in addition to the distribution of oils, we also deal with the dealership of many major global automotive brands, but it all started with Little Red Riding Hood, a small tire store.
By the way, this branch still exists and is called so — “ Little Red Riding Hood.
What do you need to pay attention to in order to build a successful business?
We believe that the most important thing is people, who are involved in business development. Man alone can never achieve anything. There are 12 people in our team. We are not just colleagues, but we can say friends, with whom we have been promoting the company and the brand in the Georgian market for the past 15 years.
Everyone in the region knows us as first-class specialists and often come to see how our business processes are arranged. Employees are our greatest asset.
How would you describe your team?
We are hungry for success. Our eyes are burning, and this energy is very felt in the company — everyone is charged for success. There are no impossible tasks for us. To achieve any goal, only resources are needed that must be correctly distributed.
The professionalism of the staff plays an important role, our team brought together experts with more than 10 years of experience. For example, Dimitry has been with the company for more than 15 years — this greatly affects the desire of employees to develop. Moreover, the company provides many opportunities for professional development in various industries. As we say, the camel finds the desert by itself, and the polar bear finds Antarctica. Archil, for example, was an oil consultant, then worked in the HR department, and then became the director of corporate sales.
How to charge a team for success?
For this, it is important to create a favorable microclimate in the company. We have no problems with turnover, because we all know each other for a long time. Each of us feels the strength of the team, no one sets anyone up, everyone only helps and supports. Under such conditions, work turns into pleasure, it is simply impossible not to love it.
Besides, you know how they spend their time in Georgia, right? Feast, songs and so on. Such joint leisure directly affects the positive atmosphere in the team.
Well, we repeat, we are leaders in the region. There are few companies that have the opportunity to learn from global leaders, giant brands such as ExxonMobil. This is very inspiring for each employee and stimulates to grow and develop professionally.
And the third, no less important point — Dimitry and I ourselves have grown to leaders from the initial positions, therefore we know well all the problems and experiences of newcomers, it is very easy for us to make friends with them, while not violating the chain of command. All of the above creates a healthy atmosphere for successful work.
How do you select your employees — in addition to competencies, what personal qualities do you consider especially valuable?
Quality like attention to detail and loyalty is important to us. Not specifically to the Mobil brand, although this is also important, but in general to the direction of the business. To do this, we ask certain questions at the interview.
For example, we pay attention to the fact that a young man used to sell competitor's products, and now he decided to represent our brand. If the reason is that he was not paid there, everything is clear, but if he just decided to work with another brand, we doubt it — there is no guarantee that tomorrow he will not leave for the next one.
A lot depends on the position the candidate is applying for. We believe that everyone should not be treated equally. It seems that the main thing is that the people in the team differ from each other — hobbies, lifestyle, mentality. With proper distribution of forces and setting ambitious goals, this approach gives a crazy result.
Do you have any internal corporate traditions?
From what I remember , we collectively collect money and give for the new year to needy colleagues. We also give gifts to children with disabilities and arrange events in nursing homes.
How does the specifics of the region influence the development of the company? What are its advantages/difficulties?
Georgia is such a small country that information spreads instantly. What one person knows, in a week everyone will know, whether it is true or false. Negative information is transmitted especially quickly. For some reason, people often want to believe in the bad.
For example, there is a myth that we sell the same oils under different brands. We're sorry to hear that.
You know the saying «we're not rich enough to buy cheap things»? She doesn't work here. Everyone looks at today, sees the price, that 3 lari for oil is more profitable than 5, but they don’t think about the future and don’t realize that oils for 3 lari will have to be changed 3-4 times more often and end up overpaying.
It is very difficult to change the mindset, the psychology of clients. This is supported by technical trainings and various partner campaigns to inform local owners of large companies and fleets and jointly drive out brands that sell low quality oils.
The advantage of being a developing country is very many ways to develop business, new projects and government tenders. We lag behind the advanced countries in the development of energy, road infrastructure, and agribusiness, so there are still many free niches and chances to develop our business. Plus, doing business in Georgia is easy and comfortable.
The city of Tbilisi has been declared World Book Capital 2021. Do you like to read yourself? Which book made the biggest impression?
Dimitry: We love to read, although we don't always have enough time. I liked a lot of what I read. I love history very much. Of all the writers, I can single out Konstantin Gamsakhurdia, he lived in the first half of the last century. His historical novel «David IV the Builder» about the most famous Georgian ruler is magnificent.
Archil: I like the prose writer Otar Chiladze and especially his novel A Man Walked Along the Road. He is great at conveying his thoughts in simple language. It seems as if he is sitting next to you and gives valuable advice.
How did you end 2021? What accomplishments are you most proud of?
In our opinion, the main event of 2021 is the growth of our business by 300%, despite the pandemic. The consequences of the pandemic are still making themselves felt — everyone had to rebuild both work and personal life during the remote period. The year was difficult, but we are pleased with the results. We have good indicators in all areas, for our part, we have done everything possible for business development. Throughout the year, we traveled on business trips around the country, continuously worked to attract more customers and made the most of the support from ExxonMobil — this is a great value for us.
We can say that the lubricants market in Georgia is now many times more developed and 99% is the merit of our company. We were the first to actively advertise products and put on TV shows, write expert blogs, publish interviews and reviews — in this way change people's thinking. Even 10-15 years ago, there was a completely different idea about lubricants. For us, this is a reason for pride.
It has never happened in Georgia that people focus on quality products, everyone is trying to save money. We were able to transfer more than 100 large companies to our oils in a year — this is more than a good result.