Russian sporting goods company Lestate has submitted an application to the state patent agency Rospatent to register its own brand Rank. At the same time, the Russian largest sporting goods retailer rolled out plans to register the third line of sporting goods under the Athlex brand.
Goods under the Rank brand are due to appear in the Moscow and St. Petersburg stores Sport Point, developed by Lestate, at the beginning of 2024, and later in the marketplaces and in wholesale, Roman Samsonov, Director of Lestate, disclosed. Even though a broad range of Western sporting goods is now available in Russia through parallel import schemes, their prices are much higher than before 2022, Samsonov added. A large portion of Russian customers can’t afford to pay Rub 10,000 to 12,000 (€100 to €120) for a pair of sneakers from a popular brand, Samsonov said, adding that Lestate plans to introduce its own brand for this category of clients.
Sportmaster is following the same path. The company has long been developing its brands, Demix and Nordway, and plans to expand this business.
The fact that Russians have begun to switch more often to lesser-known but affordable brands, which is especially evident in the sportswear segment, was indicated in a recent study by B1, the former Russian division of E&Y.
Now, due to the “unpredictability and chaotic nature of import deliveries,” many retail chains are launching goods under private label, said Irina Kuzmina, Marketing Director of Sport-Marathon.
Brand name no longer plays a big role for the Russian buyer, said Marina Malakhatko, senior director of think tank CORE.XP. Elena Borovikova, Inventive Retail Group Vice President for Sporting Goods, estimated that today the retailer’s private label has a share in the total range of footwear and textiles close to 20 percent.
On the other hand, launching production under your own brand in Russia is associated with certain challenges related to a lack of Western technologies, fabrics and other raw materials. Moreover, Borovikova added, the stagnant Russian economy and general uncertainty in the consumer market do not raise optimism among sporting goods retailers.
