Foreign brands at the Russian market of garments, shoes and goods for household
Source：Vedomosti ; RBC
From：Taiwan Trade Center, Moscow
Update Time：2024/01/03
After the start of a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, foreign companies, including a number of the world's largest fashion retailers, began to massively curtail business in Russia. Among them were Inditex (Zara, Oysho, Massimo Dutti chains), H&M (H&M, Cos, & Other Stories) and IKEA.
In addition, luxury brands Chanel, Dior, Prada, Tiffany, Bulgari, Fendi, Hugo Boss and other luxury brands have also left the market.
According to NF Group at the end of the first quarter of this year, since March 2022, 23 foreign companies have announced their departure, and another 34 have rebranded and transferred (or announced plans to transfer) the Russian business to other market participants. As a result, a significant part of the space in Russian shopping centers was freed up. According to NF Group at the end of the first quarter of 2023, the volume of available space only in Moscow shopping centers at that time was 14.5%.
Networks mainly from countries friendly to Russia began to enter the market. Last year, out of 11 networks that appeared on the market, five were from Turkey, two from China and only one company each from the USA and Italy. As noted in the NF Group, Eastern companies began to enter Russia so actively for the first time.
Since the beginning of 2023, 16 new foreign brands have arrived in Russia in the segment of clothing, shoes and household goods. This is a record since 2019, writes RBC with reference to the data of the consulting company NF Group.
According to the calculations of the Nikoliers consulting company, over the past year and a half, 27 new clothing brands have appeared in Russia, with 78% of them from friendly countries, including Turkey, Lebanon, Belarus. In total, 32 international retailers out of 140 have stopped working in the country, another 52 brands have resumed work after changes in the ownership structure of local businesses.
The numbers of foreign brands entering the Russian market during last years
|
Year
|
No. of brands
|
|
2013
|
40
|
|
2014
|
68
|
|
2015
|
49
|
|
2016
|
55
|
|
2017
|
37
|
|
2018
|
23
|
|
2019
|
26
|
|
2020
|
13
|
|
2021
|
15
|
|
2022
|
11
|
|
2023 (til. SEP)
|
16
|
Source: NF Group Research
It is noted that most of the companies that entered the Russian market are from Turkey. According to NF Group, nine such brands appeared in Russia in 2023, they belong to the "average" and "above average" price segment. Three more companies came from Belarus. Also, a sportswear seller from Australia and a chain from Kyrgyzstan, South Korea and Estonia appeared in Russia.
The Italian chain of clothing stores OVS in November 2023 will open in Russia the first family-format point of sale with an area of 780 sq. m. m in the shopping center "Vegas Crocus City". This is reported by Kommersant with reference to Crocus Group, which owns the facility.
The company clarified that OVS plans to launch seven stores in 2023, and up to 50 outlets across Russia by the end of 2025. The distributor Smart Casual Group (SCG) is engaged in brand development in the country. The publication notes that now the company is actively recruiting staff for stores. In December 2022, Kommersant, citing a source among major fashion operators, wrote that OVS Kids children's clothing stores may appear in Russia. It was assumed that it would also be developed by SCG. The newspaper concluded that the company revised the concept by adding men's and women's clothing.
As Kommersant notes, this is not OVS' first attempt to enter the Russian market. The brand was present in the country from 2010 to 2014, its development was handled by Maratex Fashion Retail Company, part of the Polish EM&F. However, the company had to close all stores due to the instability of the ruble exchange rate in 2014.
Source: https://www.vedomosti.ru/business/news/2023/10/05/998906-rossii-poyavilos-16-brendov?utm_source=yxnews&utm_medium=desktop; https://www.rbc.ru/business/05/10/2023/651d4ba69a7947f63e85ef14?utm_source=yxnews&utm_medium=desktop ; https://www.vedomosti.ru/business/news/2023/09/28/997579-kommersant-uznal-ovs; https://www.vedomosti.ru/business/news/2023/09/25/996914-finskii-riteiler-stockmann-mozhet-smenit-nazvanie