In the first five months of 2026, no new foreign brand has appeared on the Russian market, Vedomosti wrote, citing a report by consulting firm CORE.XP.
The company’s experts noted that such a situation did not occur either in 2020 during the Covid pandemic, or in the first half of 2022 after the start of the big war between Russia and Ukraine.
Other experts interviewed by Vedomosti also did not record the emergence of a single new foreign brand this year, at least according to the results of the first quarter.
Experts say that foreign companies are not now ready to invest in the Russian market. Among the possible reasons for this, they cite “the general macroeconomic backdrop and slowdown in consumer demand.” The publication reports that Rosstat records a decline in the consumer confidence index of Russians, and attendance at the country’s shopping centers is declining.
After the beginning of the major war between Russia and Ukraine, many foreign companies stopped investing or completely reduced their work in the Russian market. However, some international companies still operate in Russia, and products of brands that have officially left the Russian market are available, including through so-called “parallel import”.