The sudden departure of automakers like Renault RENA.PA, Volkswagen VOWG_p.DE and Nissan 7201.T left a gap that was filled primarily by Chinese competitors, which now account for more than 50 per cent of new car sales compared with less than 10 per cent before the start of the conflict.
Stockmann, a retailer which sells foreign and domestic clothes and acquired Hugo Boss's Russian business last year, has noted an increase in domesticbrands' sales, Darya, a salesperson in one of the company's Moscow stores, said.
Russian brands will want to defend the market share they gained and feel confident they are strong enough to compete should international players come back, said Valeria, a salesperson in a central Moscow fashion store.
"In the very beginning, it was really hard because the Russian retail market for clothing and footwear was underdeveloped," Moscow resident Anna, 29, told Reuters on one of the Russian capital's main shopping streets.
"The best spots, where Western brands used to be stationed, are already filled," said Pavel Lyulin, vice president of the Shopping Centres Association of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
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