Foreign clothing brands are setting their sights on Russian garment factories - Izvestia

UFA, 28 August 2017. /Bashinform News Agency, Olga Murtazina/. Foreign brands are setting their sights on domestic garment factories - making clothes in Russia is almost as profitable as in China. According to Izvestia, the German brand Tom Tailor, Finnish Finn Flare and a number of others are planning to expand Russian production. The Japanese UNIQLO and the group of companies Inditex, which includes Zara, Oysho, Stradivarius, Massimo Dutti, are also negotiating cooperation with Russian factories.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, 140 sewing enterprises expressed their readiness to cooperate with foreign partners. 17 Russian factories were highly praised by Inditex, and now they are being tested for compliance with social and personnel policies. UNIQLO selected eight Russian enterprises for possible cooperation, Tom Tailor - one. Finn Flare works already with 12 factories (among them - knitted, sewing and accessories manufacturers). The Finnish company now sews 35% of its production in Russia.

The experts interviewed by the publication noted that the Russian light industry was still inferior in quality of work to the Chinese. The PRC has been cooperating with Western brands for more than 20 years, and during that time the industry has completely been updated and the logistics scheme has fully developed that has yet to be built up in Russia. The benefit of production in Russia supposes lower transportation costs and overall savings – because wages do not grow now here unlike in China.