Russia’s largest sporting goods retailer is looking for alternative suppliers to replace Western brands that have withdrawn from the Russian market. Urban Vibes, a chain owned by Sportmaster, plans to start importing a number of Chinese brands, including Li-Ning and 361, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported, citing sources close to the company. The company is also aiming to become the exclusive distributor of the low-priced U.S. footwear brand Etonic in Russia.
Sportmaster hopes to begin selling Chinese brands as early as spring 2023, although logistical issues could delay those plans. Currently, Li-Ning and 361 are available in Russia through various independent resellers, most of which carry only a few items from these brands. In addition, Li-Ning opened its first mono-brand store in Russia in Krasnodar in the first half of 2022. A second store is scheduled to open in Moscow in the coming months. Urban Vibes operates 13 stores in Russia and plans to add more to its chain in the coming months.
Russia’s second-largest online retailer has also announced its intention to start importing several Chinese sporting goods brands by the end of 2022, including Li-Ning, 361, Erke, X-tep and Camel.
Sportmaster is also considering expanding its Demix retail chain, planning to open 50 new stores in 2023 in the space previously occupied by Adidas and Nike stores, Russian news agency Vpost reported, also citing a source at the company. Sporting goods available in Demix stores traditionally belong to the economy segment, with prices for athletic footwear ranging from 3,000 to 6,000 rubles (€45-90) per year, twice as high as in Adidas and Nike stores.
Marina Malakhatko, head of the retail department of Russian real estate company CORE.XP, said that Russian retailers currently have the opportunity to grab good shopping spaces abandoned by Western brands. On the other hand, the low purchasing power of Russian citizens remains a problem, as the greatest potential for growth in the Russian sporting goods market is seen in the price category below 1,000 rubles (€15) per item.
Expanding their networks and adding low-cost offers would help Russian retailers improve their revenues, but on the other hand, sporting goods retailing is likely to become less marginal, Malakhatko added.
