The heads of around 50 French luxury brands are in Russia to raise their profile among Russia's wealthy consumers.
The companies are all part of the Commitee Colbert, which is made up of such firms as Cartier, Chanel and Christian Dior. Currently the turnover of the brands in Russia totals $450 million per year, which is 2.2% of the whole sales turnover of the country. The president of the commitee says compared with other emerging markets, Russia is of particular interest to the French. “All our brands have been here since the 18th century. In the 1990s there were two big markets: Japan and the US. Now there are three booming markets for French luxury and brands, they are China, India and Russia. But with Russia the situation is quite specific, because we have that specific feature of history between our French brands and Russia, which dates back to the 18th century,” observed Elisabeth Ponsolle Des Portes, the President and CEO of Committee Colbert.