Experts assessed the decrease in the entry of foreign brands into the Russian market

In 2022, the number of foreign brands entering the Russian market has significantly decreased compared to 2021, the Kommersant newspaper writes, citing expert data.

According to the calculations of the consulting company Nikoilers, the number of new foreign brands last year was nine (in 2021 - 19). Among the new brands in 2022 are Perspective (previously presented only on marketplaces and in the multi-brand network), Efor, Ipekyol, Twist (Turkey), Alex YVN (Armenia), Li-Ning ( CHINA ), L&L Skin (Japan), Vilhelm Parfumerie ( usa ) and Coffee Boom (Kazakhstan).

NF Group announced 11 new brands. CORE.XP said that ten foreign brands entered the market in 2022 compared to 16 in 2021.

Nikoliers notes that there were far fewer new brands in 2022 than those that left. In 2022, 23 retailers announced their final withdrawal from RUSSIA, another 27 companies suspended their work in the country, analysts calculated. About 22 foreign retailers owning 31 brands have sold Russian divisions to top management or holdings from Turkey, China and the Middle East.

Nikoilers partner Anna Nikandrova explained that entering a new brand on the domestic market is a labor-intensive process, it takes at least a year. In 2022, 45 companies announced their intention to enter the Russian market, but most of them have not yet done so. 74% of the companies that announced their presence in Russia are from Turkey, 7% from Kazakhstan, 4% from China and India, and 2% each from the USA, Armenia, Japan, Belarus and Italy.

Nadezhda Tsvetkova, HEAD of CORE.XP retail space leasing, attributed the decline in the number of new brands to the reluctance of companies to invest in the Russian economy due to risks. The General DIRECTOR of the Stockmann network, Gennady Levkin, suggested that "it's not only about the vagueness of the prospects for the country's economy, but also about the ongoing difficulties with logistics."

In general, according to Evgenia Khakberdieva, director of the retail real estate department at NF Group, the number of new foreign brands this year depends on the success of those companies that entered the Russian market in the past.

Foreign companies began to leave the Russian market after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine. Most brands left Russia due to disagreement with the actions of the Russian authorities and the difficulties that arose due to sanctions. As of the beginning of September 2022, 34% of the largest foreign companies operating in Russia limited their activities in the country, 15% decided to leave it through the transfer of a Russian division to a new owner, and 7% announced a complete withdrawal from the market without selling the business, follows from the study Center for Strategic Research (CSR). As The Wall Street Journal wrote in June, the losses of foreign companies in Russia against the backdrop of sanctions amounted to $59 billion.