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Russian Trade Ministry does not consider promoting return of foreign brands relevant

The trend towards the development of local Russian brands, supported by the state, will continue, the ministry stated

MOSCOW, February 17. /TASS/. The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade does not consider it relevant to encourage or promote the return of foreign brands that have left the Russian market - the vacated niches will continue to be filled by Russian brands, the ministry's press service told TASS.

"The task to somehow encourage or promote the return of foreign brands is not relevant. Those foreign brands that remained in Russia will continue their activities, and the vacated niches will continue to be filled by brands of Russian manufacturers," the ministry said.

The trend towards the development of local Russian brands, supported by the state, will continue, the ministry added.

As the ministry recalled, some foreign brands independently decided to leave Russia in 2022-2023, but this is an unfair practice. As a result, contractual lease obligations to shopping centers were violated, which led to a decrease in their occupancy. "Many loyal Russian consumers were also confronted with the fact that their favorite brands were no longer available," the ministry pointed out.

"But most importantly, we see that our Russian business was able not only to fill the vacant spaces in shopping centers in a very short time, but also to carry out a complete rebranding and adapt the concept of their business models. Now Russian brands dominate the leading shopping centers across the country," the ministry concluded, adding that not a single foreign brand had been "expelled" forecefully from the market.

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South Africa to act through diplomatic channels in situation with envoy to US — spokesman

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Trump signs decree on cuts to structure in charge of foreign policy outreach

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Iraqi security forces eliminate one of world's most dangerous terrorists — PM

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Putin doesn’t expect restoration of relations with US to be easy process

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US restarting trade relations with all foreign partners — Rubio

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Russian forces start demining border areas of Kursk Region

The ministry also said that the sappers have a lot of work to do