Bankruptcy Fashion: Russian Clothing Market Self-Destructs

Manufacturers and sellers of clothing in Russia have grown accustomed to boasting growth figures—in rubles, in square meters, in the number of store openings. But in reality, it all turned out to be a fiction: every third brand in the mass segment ended last year in the red, and the premium segment has completely collapsed—there, every second business is already unprofitable.

The market for clothing, footwear, and accessories in Russia shrank by five percent in a year. Moreover, for the first time in many years, it was not some small semi-artisanal workshops that fell into the red zone, but market leaders: the chain «Tvoyó», the brand Oodji, and retailer Zenden.

An industry that only yesterday celebrated the departure of Western giants as a «window of opportunity» is today burying its own children—and doing so methodically, store by store. Details are in the material of MSK1.RU.

At the request of MSK1.RU, the situation on the market was analyzed by Sofia Bergman, founder of communications agency Be Famous PR. According to her calculations, in the first half of 2026, as many as 39 brands were forced to reconsider their offline presence strategies: a third reduced their retail chains, another third completely liquidated their physical stores.

«The chain «Odezhda 3000» (Modis) has shrunk from 120 to 31 stores and is in bankruptcy proceedings, while Zenden faced tax claims of 24 billion rubles ($267 million at current rates),» says Bergman.

In total, since the beginning of 2026, 11 brands have completely closed their retail operations (a year ago, 20 domestic players left the market). As a result, the share of loss-making clothing chains in the country has almost doubled—from 18% to 34%.

The main pressure on business today comes from rising taxes, expensive rent, and complex logistics, says Bergman. On the other hand, the market is hit by a sharp decline in the purchasing power of citizens.

Clothing sales in 2025 fell by 8–10% compared to 2024. At the same time, in monetary terms, the market nominally grew by 6%. This means that due to inflation, consumers pay more but take home fewer items, says Bergman. In the regions, due to lower income levels, this trend is felt even more acutely than in the capital.

Under these conditions, the pricing of many local brands has, so to speak, come into clinch with buyers’ capabilities. A price tag of 24,000–40,000 rubles ($267–444 at current rates) for a dress from a Russian designer makes the audience at least think twice.

«After all, this price is not always backed by the quality of the material, and from a design perspective, the market for the last few years has been offering, essentially, variations on the same themes of Western collections,» says Sofia Bergman.

Clothing designer, head of production at the brand AltraNatura, Artur Nakhapetov, does not mince words with his diagnosis. He reduces the reasons for the market crash to four points: the avalanche-like emergence of small and random brands, a sharp decline in purchasing power, fierce competition from Kyrgyzstan and China in the economy segment. And, of course, marketplaces with their, in Nakhapetov’s expression, «suffocating policy of imposing discounts».

According to the expert, after the departure of major Western players, everyone rushed into the industry—«bloggers, psychologists, doctors, even security forces.» People who suddenly decided that making clothes is easy and fashionable.

«Thousands of brands, workshops, salons, and so on opened up. At the same time, the solvency of the population went down. That is how a sharp oversupply of products occurred in the market,» says Nakhapetov.

However, many «stars of couture» refused to produce economy-class clothing, and producers from Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan quickly took advantage of this, as they were simply ready to work in this field.

Nakhapetov also took special aim at pseudo-designers without their own style and identity:

«Everyone just copies from each other, there is no brand that stands out in style and recognition. There is no individuality now. Many times, “Patrik’s ducks” (young socialites from Moscow’s Patriarch Ponds area) came to me, who call themselves couturiers and shout that they have their own brand. And they just show photos from the internet and ask to make that item, but with their label. Those are the kind of “couturiers” that are now closing in batches,» says the designer.

In his opinion, in the current situation, the most flexible and professional companies will survive.