One Third of Russia's Clothing Retailers May Close
Bloomberg reports that a third of Russian clothing retail outlets are likely to close by the end of the year according to the head of the European Fashion and Textile Export Council. Bloomberg says Germany exports lots of clothes to Russia and German companies are being hit hard by the problems in Russia.
The Council, which groups together national fashion associations in western Europe, surveyed German clothing makers and found an average of 35 percent of their deliveries to Russia would be unsold this summer. Casualties of Russia's downturn have included outlets of Diesel SpA and Stella McCartney, and Kommersant has reported that the local franchisee for Hong Kong sportswear maker Sprandi International Ltd. closed 37 outlets in Moscow and St. Petersburg after its bankruptcy in May.
"Many important German fashion suppliers have deleted between 20 percent and 30 percent of Russia's fashion retailers from their customer records, because they don't meet the basic conditions of doing business any more," Doepfer said in an interview at last week's CPD fashion fair in Dusseldorf.
Anna Lebsak-Kleimans, president of Moscow-based researcher Fashion Consulting Group, told Bloomberg that the 1/3 closing figure is that 10% to 20% is more accurate. She also said the Russian retailers may switch away from Europe to cheaper clothing products from China and Turkey.
