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No foreign brand has entered the Russian market since the start of 2026, according to a report by consultancy CORE.XP cited by Vedomosti.

The finding marks a sharp deterioration from recent years. In the first five months of 2025 alone, at least nine international players opened physical stores in Russia, among them Spanish jewellery brand PDPAOLA, Belarusian clothing label Mua and Italian sportswear brand Kappa. For the full year 2025, twelve new foreign brands entered the market — itself a decline from 24 in each of 2023 and 2024, according to the report.

The first months of 2026 represent a record low for new international brand entries, said Vasily Grigoryev, head of research at CORE.XP. He noted that no comparable drought had been recorded during the Covid lockdowns of 2020 or even in the first half of 2022, in the immediate aftermath of Russia's military operation in Ukraine. CORE.XP data show that 29 foreign brands entered the Russian market in 2019, 23 in 2020, and 16 in each of 2021 and 2022.

Other consultants surveyed by Vedomosti also reported no new foreign brand entries in the first quarter of 2026. NF Group noted one partial exception: Austrian ski equipment maker Zanier, which made its Russian debut through the Sportmaster retail chain. Analysts, however, characterised this as limited product distribution via a local partner rather than a full market entry.

Several international brands continue to operate in Russia without opening new locations, including Italian appliance maker De'Longhi, footwear retailers Doucal's, Beau Today and Emiliano Zapato, and Turkish coffee chain Colombia Coffee, according to CORE.XP. Only three brands expanded their Russian presence in 2025–2026: Kappa, Turkish appliance manufacturer Beko and Chinese furniture brand Jinkailai.

CORE.XP analysts attributed the absence of new foreign investment to a deteriorating macroeconomic backdrop and weakening consumer demand.

Meanwhile, a number of foreign companies have exited Russia this year. Yulia Kuznetsova, director of the retail property department at Nikoliers, said she was aware of at least seven such departures, including Turkish brands Les Benjamins and Karaca Home and Kazakhstani label Gaissina. Those foreign brands that remain are pursuing cautious strategies in the face of a higher tax burden and elevated interest rates, operating through existing channels — marketplaces, local distributors or niche formats that avoid long-term commitments, she said. She expects no more than ten new foreign brands to enter the market for the full year, with total new entrants including domestic labels unlikely to exceed thirty.

Alexander Shokhin, head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs expected to become Russia's new business ombudsman, said in late May that foreign companies were enquiring about the criteria for resuming operations in Russia. "They are certainly interested in the conditions for a return," he said.