MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. Major Russian furniture manufacturers are making plans to open retail outlets in Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Kommersant business daily reported on Friday, citing the companies involved.
In particular, Angstrem plans to open its first store in Mongolia by the end of this spring and to enter the Azerbaijani market, the paper wrote. In turn, the founder of Divan.ru, Anton Makarov, told Kommersant about his company’s plans to open stores this year in Uzbekistan, where the company had earlier launched production of patio furniture, as well as in several cities in Kazakhstan. In turn, Askona plans to open stores under its flagship brand name as well as under the premium Grether & Wells brand name in Turkey and the UAE in 3Q 2023.
The furniture companies are seeking opportunities to grow their businesses in new foreign markets due to the EU’s restrictions on furniture exports from Russia imposed in 2022, the newspaper said. According to the Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia, furniture exports from the country fell by 40% in cash terms in 2022 versus the previous year to 29.5 bln rubles ($382.5 mln). The share of Russian producers’ export sales decreased to 8% in 2022 from 16% in 2021, the publication noted.