January 22 19:30
In 2026, the number of store openings of new local and foreign brands in Russia as a whole may increase by 5% year on year, to 45 new brands. This is close to the 2025 figure (43), but almost a third less than in 2024 – 62. The current economic situation and high competition are slowing down the entry of new retailers into the market – now new brands prefer to develop the online segment.
By the end of 2026, 45 new Russian and foreign brands may appear in Russia – this is 5% more year on year, the consulting company Nikoliers predicts. A slight increase in the indicator may signal stabilization of the Russian retail market after the recession in 2025, when the number of companies opening their stores, on the contrary, decreased by a third year-on-year, according to the study.
Another sign of the transition from a turbulent phase to a more stable one will be a reduction in the number of brands that have left the Russian Federation. According to Nikoliers forecasts, 16 brands may leave the Russian market in 2026 – 41% less than a year earlier. Previously, retailers that rapidly entered the Russian market during the period of departure of large international companies had to stop their activities en masse due to increasing losses due to undeveloped development plans, says Nadezhda Tsvetkova, head of retail space leasing at the consulting company CORE.XP.
Now Russian companies have become more cautious: the number of local retailers planning to open this year may decrease by 11% year-on-year, to 25 new brands.
New brands are faced with high costs and a shortage of quality retail space, notes Yulia Kuznetsova, deputy head of the Nikoliers retail real estate department. The vacancy rate in Moscow shopping centers is now about 10%, but in key locations this figure is lower, say consultants interviewed by Kommersant. Additional pressure, according to Yulia Kuznetsova, is still exerted by expensive debt financing, which limits opportunities for investment in expansion and development.
