Apparel Online India Magazine May 1st Issue 2018 | Page 22

EMERGING MARKET
Gloria Jeans, Russia moving towards
high growth with increased sourcing
from India
G
loria Jeans Corporation,
Moscow a vertically integrated
retailer and a fast-fashion leader
in the Russian apparel industry, is
spreading its wings. In 2017, the
number of company-owned stores
was 568, spread across Russia,
Ukraine, Belorussia, Georgia and
Kazakhstan. As per a market report
by McKinsey Consulting, each store
opening strengthens Gloria Jeans
brand presence, which is already a
favourite in Russia and recognized by
a whopping 95% of Russian citizens.
Compared to 2016, Gloria Jeans’ sales
grew 20.1 per cent in 2017, totalling
40.8 billion roubles. The sales growth
was driven by higher comp store sales
by 10.5 per cent as well as higher
selling space by 18 per cent. The
company plans to open a new store
almost every fortnight and plans to
expand its presence not only in Russia
and Belarus, but also enter new
markets in Eastern Europe.
With expanding retail base, the
company started its sourcing and
liaison office in India almost two-
and-a-half years ago and has since
then noticed double digit growth
in sourcing from India. The way
the market is growing, the office
is expecting same growth graph in
the coming years, as new vendors
are in the process to get associated
with the liaison office, after some
initial reservations. Heading the
India offi