A Louis Vuitton shop in front of the Mausoleum in an upscale shopping district in Moscow, the capital with the most millionaires in the world. Exclusive products find their way to these newly rich.
Forget about stealth wealth. The Russian luxury consumer wants to flaunt economic status—whether buying fashion or fine jewelry. One telltale sign: the new Millionaire Fair, where vendors come to show off big-ticket items like helicopters, jewel-encrusted pencils and baby bottles made of gold. Analysts predict this market will grow at least 15% over the next five years.
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In general, affluent consumers in Russia have the greatest top-of-mind awareness of foreign luxury brands compared with China and India because the Russian luxury market is more developed and more European in nature.
Homegrown
When it comes to total brand awareness, Russian consumers are loyal to two local talents: Vyacheslav Zaitsev and Valentin Yudashkin. Although they both produce ready-to-wear and haute couture collections, Yudashkin is perhaps the closest thing Russia has to an international fashion celebrity, with shows in Paris, a boutique on one of Moscow's best-known streets, and lines of jeans, porcelain, fine jewelry and sunglasses.
Best-known brands in Russia: Versace and Dior
American brand they are most interested in owning: Tiffany
What consumers want:
High quality: 53%
Good reputation: 53%
High fashion: 44%
Russian consumers consider Dior, Dolce & Gabbana and Giorgio Armani the most "high fashion" brands
All that glitters
Russian women like to buy jewelry, especially rings and necklaces, which they purchased on average 1.3 times in the past six months. Brand reputation and craftsmanship are crucial.
On average, affluent Russians have spent $1,084 on a ring.
Most widely owned fine-jewelry brands:
1. Bulgari
2. Cartier
3. Tiffany
4. De Beers
5. Chopard
Russian men buy more shoes than any other luxury accessory and have spent on average up to $556 on a pair.
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In Russia the most popular beauty purchase is fragrance for women and cologne for men. Most consumers who buy fragrance are responding to the reputation of the brand, the quality of the product or the price. Only 3% of affluent Russians said they buy perfume because a celebrity endorsed the brand.