Dominico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are in Moscow to open their biggest brand boutique in the world as part of the company's 25th anniversary.
It is the first mono-brand shop in downtown Moscow with more than 1,000 square meters of retail space.
"Dolce&Gabbana" is very popular in Russia, with the brand being named “Luxury monobrand of the year” in 2009. Ekaterina Odintsova, editor-in-chief of Shopping Guide magazine, says that D&G has chosen the right time.
“The place and the time chosen are ideal: it’s summer, it’s the end of the crisis, it’s the people returning to their usual regime of consumption. The European market is already occupied and developing their business there. For such a famous brand as D&G, doesn’t have the prospects as expansion in Russia, I think.”
The brand is present in 80 countries across the world, and setting up in Russia likely to have a significant advantage over D&G's rivals.
According to Anna Lebsak-Klemens, CEO at Fashion Consulting Group, the new boutique could take some clients away from multibrands.
“There is going to be domestic competition. Being present in Russia’s capital, at a federal level is an additional competitive advantage to Ferre, Dolce & Gabbana and Cavalli. As the boutique opens directly, the brand might want to follow a mainstream price strategy. But on the other hand, they distribute much of their clothing through Russia, and, I’m sure, they won’t dampen Russian customers.”