Krasnodar, 24 March. Our today’s guest is Yulia Ivanova, designer and Academician of the National Academy of Fashion Industry.
Q.: Many global brands have left the Russian market. How can you assess such situation?
A.: I think that their exit – even if it would not last for long – was a mistake related to the politicizing of the current situation. It is bad for all. Certainly, the vacant niche will partly be occupied by Russian producers which will mean new opportunities for us. But competition is very needed and important – first of all, for consumers. So I am not happy at all about the exit of brands from the Russian market. Looking at the volumes of the sales of all major fashion industry retailers during the past days, we can say that it will be enough for a year or so, and people will hardly find themselves ‘naked.’ But we simply do not have such large [Russian] players as INDITEX or H&M Internet shops.
Q.: How has the situation with Russian clothing makers changed over the past few years?
A.: The market of textile and light industry – all its parts, including manufacture of bed linen and clothing – is growing constantly. In all Russian regions, there are local manufacturers that make fashionable and interesting clothes, footwear, accessories and perfumes. Quite often it is our fault that we know little if anything about them – we are too lazy to search for information about Russian producers or their advertising campaigns are very much inferior to those offered by gigantic companies. Besides, many Russian brands bear foreign titles.
Q.: How will this situation affect the final consumers – shall we expect shortage of products and rising prices?
A.: Of course, prices for finished products will go up – and even not because of the growing currency exchange rate. The logistics and electricity whose cost is part of the final price became more expensive. However, producers that think about their future will be looking for the ways to reduce the cost of their products – at least not to shock their buyers with a steep jump of their prices. As for the shortage, it will not be the case.
Q.: Are there conditions needed to train the staff available in the country?
A.: This is a complicated and at the same time simple question. Designers are now trained everywhere, and many dare call themselves designers even without any preparation whatsoever. However a designer is just the visible summit of the iceberg. The Russian fashion industry is facing want of qualified tailors, dressmakers, garment designers, engineers, etc. And we can feel the personnel gap, because we began to deal with this issue not long ago. I would say that we do have conditions to train the personnel, but we do not have the personnel yet. What is more, there is want of qualified top managers. For a long while, everyone had been looking to conquer Europe; we lost the knowledge of peculiarities of the Russian market.
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