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In the first three quarters of 2025, 12 foreign brands, including brands from Europe and the United States, entered the Russian market, according to analytics by Commonwealth Partnership (CMWP) consulting company.

A total of 27 brands entered the Russian market between January and September this year. Compared to the same period last year, when 42 new names appeared, activity slowed by 39%.

CMWP defines market entry or announcement of entry as an official statement from the brand owner or authorised distributors, or the opening of the first single-brand store (if the brand was previously represented on the Russian market online or in a department store corner, but is launching its own store for the first time).

The company sees this decline as indicating that market conditions are not conducive to development of the retail network. "Many operators are closing down after failing to adapt to changed market conditions, as their chosen business models proved to be insufficiently sustainable," said Zulfia Shilyaeva, senior director and head of the commercial real estate department at CMWP.

Of the 27 new brands that have appeared since the beginning of the year, 15 are Russian. Among the foreign brands, four are from Italy, two from China, and one each from Turkey, Germany, Belarus, the United States, Spain, and Kazakhstan.

In particular, the CMWP analysis shows that the US clothing brand Guess Jeans entered the Russian market quite recently, in the third quarter of the year. During the same period, the Spanish jewellery brand PDPaola launched sales in Russia.

Fashion brands are the most active, accounting for 48% of the new players. Accessories and sporting goods each account for 11%. Children's goods, household goods, and household appliances and electronics each account for 7%, while other segments account for less than 5%.

Earlier, Nikoliers consulting company had provided slightly different data. It reported that since the beginning of 2025, 13 new foreign brands had appeared in Russia, and eight more were planning to launch by the end of the year, bringing the total number of new foreign brand launches to 21.

According to Nikoliers, among the foreign players entering the Russian market this year, the most active were brands from Italy (31% of the total number of launches), Turkey (23%) and China (15%). New players from the United States, Spain, Belarus and Kazakhstan each accounted for almost 8% of the total number. By the end of the year, brands from Iran, the UAE, Uzbekistan, Finland and Mexico are expected to enter the market.