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Over the past five years, the volume of clothing production in Moscow has grown 62.4 times. This was announced on May 27 by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin in his Telegram channel. He called this industry "the fastest growing in the capital" and noted that Moscow enterprises "produce everything from the mass market to designer clothes." The departure of foreign brands gave the capital's business the opportunity to occupy vacant niches, the mayor added.

In 2023, the capital's clothing manufacturers shipped goods worth more than 70 billion rubles. More than 2.8 million pairs of shoes were also produced in the city," Vladislav Ovchinsky, head of the capital's department of Investment and Industrial Policy, reported in March. Currently, 135 industrial enterprises operate in the capital, where 4,000 people produce suits, jackets, jackets, raincoats, shorts, overalls, dresses, T-shirts and other products, said a representative of the Moscow Department of Investment and Industrial Policy.

"Vedomosti. Gorod" talked with experts and representatives of Moscow clothing brands and found out what other factors contributed to the growth of clothing production, what obstacles urban manufacturers face and what support the Moscow government provides them.

Moscow textiles

The volume of clothing production in Moscow is increasing every year. So, in 2023, the volume increased 3.5 times, in 2022 it was almost sevenfold (6.6 times), in 2021 – 2.4 times, the senior director of CORE.XP Marina Malakhatko: "This is mainly due to the active measures of support for entrepreneurs from the regional authorities, which have made Moscow attractive for the location of workshops and factories."

It was only thanks to subsidies and benefits that a modern and technological base for small-scale production was formed over the past 3-4 years, Malakhatko explains, as a rule, production was located in industrial clusters and separate economic zones. Now modern production sites and technology parks are beginning to be created.

The production of clothing in the city has its pros and cons, says the operating director of the school of business education Fashion Factory School (included in Ultimate Education) Inna Gureeva. She calls high costs one of the main disadvantages – first of all, it is expensive rent and high salaries. "In the capital, the salaries of production staff are higher than the average in Russia. They continue to grow, as there are not enough qualified personnel," explains Gureeva. This is confirmed by Sergey Bogdanov, co-founder of the Moscow clothing brand BASK. The company produces travel and casual clothing, 15% of the brand's products are sewn at its own production in Moscow, the rest is on contract.

"We find it difficult to find a workforce with adequate salaries, we have to raise prices a lot. Therefore, in Moscow we produce clothes only for the high price segment, we distribute more budget positions to production in other regions of Russia," he notes. This year, the salaries of specialists had to be increased by an average of 15%, Bogdanov states. At the same time, he notes that it is easier to find the right specialists in the Moscow labor market.

Anna Lebsak-Kleimans, CEO of Fashion Consulting Group, spoke about other disadvantages of working, for example, in contract manufacturing. According to her, even in the capital, it is difficult to find a contract manufacturing facility that will produce a turnkey product: "Often, the supply of raw materials, fittings and other components remains on the customer's side." Bogdanov states that for their brand, difficulties with the supply of clothing components have really become a deterrent.

"We produce insulation materials for clothes in Russia, but we order fabrics and accessories abroad – mainly in Korea, China, Vietnam, and there is a problem with them," he says. There are no factories in the capital that are ready to produce large quantities of products at low cost, continues Lebsak-Kleimans. "For the most part, the capital's production facilities are small workshops and productions that are not focused on thousands of copies," she explains.

Gureeva considers the main advantage of production in Moscow to be the speed of delivery and logistical advantages. "In recent years, we have seen a surge in fashion entrepreneurship in Russia, and in particular in Moscow: many new brands with small print runs are being created. It is more profitable for them to sew in small batches in Moscow in order to save on logistics, since the cost of goods in this format will be higher," explains Gureeva. Large foreign factories work only with large customers, which also stimulates local production, she adds.

Goodbye Zara

Lebsak-Kleymans explains the increase in demand for production by the active growth in demand from Russians for local brands both in traditional stores and on marketplaces. Interest in local brands is largely due to the departure of foreign clothing manufacturers from the domestic market, agree those interviewed by Vedomosti. City" experts.

“Due to the departure of foreign mass-market brands, there has been a qualitative leap in the development of Russian fashion companies,” says Maria Batyukhnova, co-founder of the Moscow clothing brand Pink Bus. This brand produces   affordable knitwear for everyday life: T-shirts, long sleeves, sweatshirts, hoodies, trousers. According to Batyukhnova, Pink Bus sales have been growing by 80–100% over the past four years.

“Our main competitors are Western companies: European, American. Since 2022, most of them have left, a free niche has formed,” says Bogdanov. Over the past five years, the BASK brand's revenue has grown 2.6 times, with cold-weather clothing selling best. “It is in greatest demand and brings us the largest percentage of revenue – 45%,” notes the co-founder of BASK.

The city provides support to the capital's clothing manufacturers. For example, Pink Bus is a participant in the “Made in Moscow” project: more than 350 units of products were sold in the project pavilion during the Urban Forum in Luzhniki in 2023, and more than 250 units of products were sold during the “Russia” forum at VDNKh, Batiukhnova cites data. “The Moscow government provides good support at Moscow Fashion Week: it holds shows, arranges meetings with buyers,” notes Anton Maetny, founder of the White Crow brand. This brand specializes in Japanese-style streetwear; the brand sews batches of up to 50 units in its own small experimental workshop of 60-70 square meters. m, larger ones are given to other industries.

Bogdanov says that due to the support of the Moscow government, the loan rate for his company is lower than the discount rate: 13.5%, while the discount rate is 16%. "This allows us to spend less on interest on loans," the entrepreneur explains. The company also receives subsidies from the Moscow government for the purchase of equipment.

Source: https://www.vedomosti.ru/gorod/ourcity/articles/proizvodstva-odezhdi-moskve