Marketers have found new ways to get Russians to fork out cash

Russian brands rely on “quiet luxury”, but the quality falls short

Shopping centers have been transformed over the past two years: the names of stores are increasingly unfamiliar, in the “manufacturer” column on the labels of things it says “Russia”, but they are decorated as if they were a carbon copy – a spacious, half-empty room, things are hung on rails by color. The choice of these colors, by the way, is small – black, beige, dusty blue and some other neutral shade reign everywhere. Domestic manufacturers are trying their best to support the trend towards “quiet luxury”, but they do not take into account an important detail: both the quality of their goods and the lifestyle of their customers are far from luxury – be it loud or quiet.

This principle of distribution of goods on the sales floor perfectly reflects the methods of attracting customers that marketers profess in 2023. One of the main trends today is “quiet luxury,” and to create that feeling, store owners have turned to specific floor plans. According to experts, the more “air” there is on the rail (a rail is, roughly speaking, a hanger on wheels), the better the product is perceived as premium – but if things are hung tightly, then the store gives the impression of an inexpensive mass market. Nowadays it is customary to display fewer things on the sales floor than, for example, 2-3 years ago.

This period conveniently coincided with the time when Russian brands entered the forefront. This is exactly how they plan their stores – a very small lineup, and things are hung strictly by color.

– I can help you? — a sales consultant in a new store on Paveletskaya Square greets you with a prepared professional smile.

I would like to answer honestly: “Yes, you can help me figure out how one beige dress differs from another beige dress.” At first glance, all the rails in the store are hung with exactly the same things: on the right – everything is beige, on the left – everything is black, in the center there is a little white. Moreover, down jackets, wool trousers and silk T-shirts somehow strangely mixed up and turned out to be neighbors. Although this is just easy to explain! Firstly, the “outerwear department” is old-fashioned, and secondly, today’s trends are to help the client buy a “capsule” (read: an outfit from shorts to a coat), and not trousers themselves.

A capsule wardrobe is considered a marker of premiumness. But the devil is in the details—more precisely, in the difference between “to be” and “to seem.” Brands that can really afford to sell 3-5 models of sweaters and the same number of models of trousers are distinguished by their impeccable quality, which ensures them the loyalty of regular customers. Most of those who have taken the place of Western firms still have time to grow and grow. On social networks, one can increasingly hear complaints about Russian brands that consider it acceptable to set exorbitant prices for their goods – for example, coats for 250-300 thousand rubles, winter jackets worth more than half a million and ordinary woolen jumpers for 30-50 thousand. And almost all buyers agree: such prices are justified when it comes to well-known stores with a long history, but they look very strange for newcomers who have yet to gain popularity in the market.

As marketing specialist Snezhana Gurova explained in an interview with a MK correspondent, attempts to recreate the atmosphere of famous expensive boutiques can only play into the hands of stores once. In order for customers to return, you still need to rely on quality.

— In the last few years, the trend towards “basic” and “quiet luxury” has been gaining momentum, but in Russian realities it is quite dangerous. The vast majority of our customers are not ready to regularly update expensive basic items, for example, plain woolen sweaters. By the word “new thing” people understand something bright and fashionable. Therefore, people will not return as willingly to a store that sells “expensive basics” as to one that quickly responds to changing fashion winds,” the expert argues.

However, the atmosphere in the store really means a lot. Long before import substitution became a forced trend, one of the famous Russian cosmetics brands relied on this. Their branded stores are designed like good boutiques, staffed by competent consultants, but at the same time, most jars and tubes of cosmetics cost a maximum of a thousand rubles, and some products even cost 100-200 rubles. They sell not only cosmetics, but also mood – the right tactic from a marketing point of view! – and make this mood accessible to the widest range of people.

At the same time, one of the largest Moscow department stores has already reported that they do not yet see a domestic brand that could fully fill the niche of the outdated luxury. “Who is ready to take on the responsibility to come and start creating their own, in addition to all the marketplaces?” asks one of the owners of the shopping center. According to him, now we can talk about the opportunity for brands to make money, but nothing more.