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Western retailers to face difficulties when returning to Russia due to high competition

"The ones that stayed in touch, did not leave anywhere, and simply invested in business development here," President of the Online Retail Association Artem Sokolov said

ST. PETERSBURG, June 23. /TASS/. Western retailers will face serious competition with Russian companies and companies from friendly countries when returning back to Russia, President of the Online Retail Association (AKIT) Artem Sokolov told TASS in an interview on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"My expectations are more and more skeptical from the standpoint of prospects for such returns, because this niche is being occupied by other players. By the way, not only Russian but also Chinese, Indian, and Turkish ones. The ones that stayed in touch, did not leave anywhere, and simply invested in business development here. Therefore, the serious competition should be endured to implement such return. And this will certainly be challenging," Sokolov said.

The Russian e-commerce market is so open that the return or the departure of certain companies simply changes its structure, he added.