What luxury brands are represented in Russia

Instead of Prada – Chinese luxury: three new brands have appeared in the Bosco di Ciliegi portfolio. Two of them have already been presented in the Russian Federation, but Ellassay entered the Russian market for the first time. As Kommersant FM found out, Moscow became the first international platform for this brand. In GUM, Ellassay occupied two floors of the former boutique of the Milanese fashion house. In China itself, the company has more than 300 stores. What is happening to luxury in Russia? And are there any prospects for returning departed brands? Aelita Kurmukova found out.

The luxury is gone, but not all: Italian fashion houses still officially work in Russia, according to experts interviewed by Kommersant FM. Customers are not deterred even by the markup, plus 30-40% compared to Europe. If you look through the official websites of the three major fashion retail players, even French brands remain in Moscow, which took the toughest position after the start of the SVO in Ukraine. But no one names them, for fear of sanctions, explained the official representative of the Fashion House Group, Konstantin Anisimov:

“The Italians do not hide the fact that they are working with Russia and bringing new collections. Now there is more than enough supply, primarily in Moscow. I cannot name specific brands; all brands have refused advertising.

The difficulty now is that they cannot declare themselves in the media, an information vacuum is created. And there is a feeling that they are not in Russia, but in fact they are present and sell both remnants and new collections.”

Russian companies do not disclose supply chains; everyone has their own, adds Konstantin Anisimov. Luxury products are imported mainly through Turkey, Armenia, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates. But the three major fashion players, as before Kommersant FM reported, does not engage in parallel imports. Retailers are still hoping to return departed brands, noted Evgenia Khakberdieva, regional director of the retail real estate department at NF Group:

“Some companies, conditionally, transferred powers to a certain local partner, who imports goods through parallel import. Why didn’t Bosco, Mercury, JamilCo, for example, do this? If they do this and brands find out about it, they will be deprived of their partnership for many years.

So Russian players are still hoping that these companies will officially return to the country and these supplies will resume. That is why the number of brands that remain in Russia is limited.”

Distributor JamilCo decided to develop own brand. In March 2024, it became known that the company would begin producing children’s clothing. Mercury did not officially announce its plans, and Bosco di Ciliegi this spring expanded its portfolio with three new brands, Natalya Plugatar, director of the company’s marketing department, told Kommersant FM: “The Ellassay store opened, 390 sq. m. m., two floors, three brand lines are presented. This is a Chinese premium brand that has decided to enter the international market, and Russia is the first country in which it opened a store outside of China.

We have Laurel, the brand used to be German, now it is part of the LSI group, this is also clothing for women. The brand was previously available in the Russian Federation, and those people who are familiar with it are very glad that it has returned again. We also opened Eleventy stores, an Italian young clothing brand, so sporty-chic.”

Meanwhile, the share of vacant space in Moscow shopping centers is less than 1%, and all top locations are almost occupied. And if European fashion houses suddenly decide to return, finding a place for their boutique will not be easy, especially when it comes to large projects. That is why, as Kommersant FM was told by the NF Group, Gucci and Louis Vuitton still retain their sites on Petrovka, Stoleshnikov Lane and Bolshaya Dmitrovka.

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