Russian clothing market devours itself in bankruptcy wave

Producers and sellers of clothing in Russia have grown accustomed to boasting about 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, while premium has completely collapsed — there, every second business is already unprofitable.

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

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

Numbers you’d rather not see

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

«The chain “Odezhda 3000” (Modis) shrank from 120 to 31 stores and is in bankruptcy proceedings, and Zenden faced tax claims of 24 billion rubles (approximately $267 million),» 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 unprofitable clothing chains in the country nearly doubled — from 18% to 34%.

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

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 are paying more but taking home fewer items, says Bergman. In the regions, due to lower income levels, this trend is felt even more acutely than in the capital.

In these conditions, the pricing of many local brands has, so to speak, locked horns with consumers’ purchasing power. A price tag of 24,000–40,000 rubles ($267–$444) for a dress from a Russian designer gives the audience at least serious pause.

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

Blame the ‘ducks from Patriki’ (Moscow socialites)

Artur Nakhapetov, a clothing designer and head of production for the AltraNatura brand, does not mince words in his diagnosis. He boils the reasons for the market’s collapse down to four points: an avalanche-like emergence of small and random brands, a sharp drop in purchasing power, stiff competition from Kyrgyzstan and China in the economy segment, and, of course, marketplaces with their, in Nakhapetov’s words, «suffocating policy of imposing discounts».

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

«Thousands of brands, workshops, salons, and so on have sprung up. At the same time, the purchasing power of the population has declined. So there was a sharp oversupply of products on the market,» says Nakhapetov.

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

Nakhapetov also took a swipe 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, “ducks from Patriki” (Moscow socialites) have come to me who call themselves couturiers and shout that they have their own brand. And they just show photos from the internet and ask me to sew that item, but with their label. Such “couturiers” are now closing by the dozen,» the designer says.

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