Artoil is differentiated within the market by bold use of colour, designed to be highly visible and provide a welcome refuge during long, cold and dark winters.
The Artoil brand was created collaboratively with owners Ilona and Rishat Safin to be equally credible for technology products, such as fuel and car wash, and the profitable convenience food sector.
The arty name expresses the quirky boutique nature of the brand positioning and is derived from the former Kartoil stations, which in the past provided a venue for cart racing enthusiasts.
Setting a Russian standard
BP and Lukoil set the standard in Russia during the late 1990s, with Rosneft and Gazpromneft more recently coming to the fore. For a smaller independent retailer, something different and exciting would be required, capable of being rolled out across a network of 50 petrol stations.
An artistic gesture
Bold colours feature inside the store with a sit-down and takeaway offer named Kraski Kafe (Colours Café). The ubiquitous white grid tiled ceiling was deliberately rejected in favour of a more individual and atmospheric design involving a large timber elliptical structure to make a dramatic, differentiating gesture.
Fuelling the art market
As Artoil’s management realised they were totally new to the food to go market, they were naturally anxious they could attract customers from leading brands like Lukoil. In the event, trading figures for fuel and convenience store purchases are significantly higher than the previous Lukoil station on the same site. Local office workers especially are happy to spend break times in the ‘Art Market’ drinking coffee or topping up their weekly shopping.
The project has been awarded best design 2010 by the Moscow Oil Association. Perhaps the most convincing measure of success comes from the banks agreeing to finance a further 75 Artoil stations by 2015.