At the end of autumn, the Italian clothing chain OVS will open its first point of sale in Russia. Family format store with an area of 780 m2. m will appear in the Vegas Crocus City shopping center. The brand is being developed in the Russian Federation by distributor Smart Casual Group (SCG).
By the end of 2025, it plans to open up to 50 points throughout the country, writes Kommersant.
This is not the brand’s first attempt to enter the Russian market. Almost ten years ago, the brand was developed in the country under the franchise of Maratex Fashion Retail Company, part of the Polish EM&F. However, EM&F’s Russian business suffered severe exchange rate fluctuations in 2014, and the company had to close all OVS stores and other chains it developed in the Russian Federation.
After the departure of the Swedish H&M and the Spanish Inditex from Russia, the opening of stores of a European brand is an atypical situation for the Russian market, its participants say. Additionally, over the past year and a half, competition in the clothing segment has increased significantly.
The Russians themselves would like to see new “strong” national brands emerge instead of the return of international ones. Among those who want new Russian brands to appear, 55% are men and 54% are women. Most of them are 45 years old or older. The smallest number of people expecting “strong” Russian brands is among Russian residents aged 18-24 (36%).
