Related Articles
MOSCOW — Following her fashion instinct last Thursday, Sharon Stone hoisted scissors that once belonged to couturier Christian Dior and helped cut the gray satin ribbon on Dior’s latest high-profile flagship: a 3,650-square-foot unit in the GUM department store on Red Square here.
“Luxury is really booming” in Moscow, said Dior president Sidney Toledano, citing brisk sales over the weekend of fur coats, diamond jewelry and high-end handbags. “The market is becoming more and more sophisticated.”
Eager to tap into the country’s burgeoning wealth, European luxury brands are fortifying their presence in the Russian capital. And Dior is among the latest to start operating stores in Russia directly, rather than with a local partner. These include its eight-year-old unit on Stoleshnikov Pereulok in central Moscow, which will now be operated by a Dior subsidiary.
Toledano declined to give sales figures for the region but characterized Russia and Eastern Europe as “one of the key markets” for Dior over the next three years, where sales are already on par with the best of western European countries. He hinted at additional openings in the next 18 months in Russia and neighboring republics.
He also stressed that Russians rank among Dior’s most important clientele worldwide, snapping up luxury goods in Paris, Saint-Tropez, Geneva and the United States. “And they will be traveling more and more,” Toledano predicted. “The look is so up-to-date when you go to restaurants in Moscow, you can’t believe it.”
Dior feted its Red Square arrival in lavish style, with a press conference given by Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and a cocktail party in the store for about 600 VIPs, among them the ballet dancer Ilse Liepa and assorted Russian actors and television stars.
A dinner of beluga caviar and roasted lamb — washed down with Belvedere Vodka and vintage Dom Perignon — followed for 250 guests at Turandot, a gilt-encrusted new restaurant with a giant cupola. In specially designed salons, models posed in couture dresses by John Galliano. Guests were also treated to a performance by the jazz singer Viktoria Tolstoy, the great-granddaughter of Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.
“We see how quickly the wealth of Russians grows,” Arnault told the Russian news agency Prime-Tass. “Not long ago Russia was in debt, but now it miraculously restores its financial position.”
You May Also Like
Stone gave a press conference of her own at the Maly Theatre, which was rented specially for the event. “I am glad to get back to Russia. I cannot help admiring the beauty of Russian women,” said the 48-year-old actress, in town to promote Dior’s Capture Totale and boost an already rosy beauty business.
“The brand acceptance and desirability is very strong among the Russians,” Toledano said, characterizing the company’s beauty business as number one in the market.
“Russia is a fragrance-oriented market with a deeply anchored gifting tradition,” said a Dior spokesman. “Makeup is also very strong,” he added, noting Russian women love novelties. “For a brand like Dior, [which is] capable of offering a range of sophisticated glamorous products with a sustained rate of innovation consistent with the brand, the success is huge.”
Skin care lags behind fragrance and makeup in the market, however, it’s “catching up rapidly,” the spokesman said. “Russian women read a lot and are [becoming] more and more educated about products.”
To be sure, Dior has a long and colorful history in Russia, stretching back to 1959, when its founding couturier staged a series of high-profile fashion shows in Moscow to promote new business agreements there. Some 11,000 people took in the glamour, prompting a delegation of Moscow fashion houses to pay a visit to the Paris couture house and its lingerie manufacturer in Lyon.
But Dior’s retail presence in the Russian capital is far more recent. The first boutique, selling fragrances and accessories, opened in 1989. A Dior Parfums unit opened in GUM in 1994, followed by the freestanding fashion boutique on Stoleshnikov.
The new three-level store takes inspiration from Dior’s Avenue Montaigne flagship in Paris, mixing 18th-century and modern elements. With its Louis XVI sofas, high molded ceilings and hardwood floors in a herringbone pattern, the space is reminiscent of a grand Parisian apartment.
Shoppers entering from Red Square encounter a large video wall broadcasting the latest runway images, flanked by displays of handbags and small leather goods, including Dior’s latest volley, the My Dior bag.
A grand staircase in brushed stainless steel leads shoppers up to the shoe department and a large showcase for ready-to-wear designed by Galliano, including gowns, furs and evening dresses, offset by breathtaking views of Moscow’s most iconic landmarks.
Fine jewelry by Victoire de Castellane is in an adjacent room that reflects the whimsical interior of the Dior jewelry unit on Paris’ Place Vendôme, with its pearl-gray walls, panther prints and baubles displayed on tiny chairs.
A third level, which will be devoted to fragrances, skin care and makeup, complete with treatment rooms, is still being readied.
In an interview, Toledano said the Russian market had evolved rapidly. “Five years ago, they were looking only for brands,” he said. “Now, they’re looking out for very high-quality products. The sophistication is there, plus a lot of energy.”
Over the weekend, Toledano visited several museums, including the Pushkin, and was heartened to see them packed with young culture mavens. “In Moscow, you see buildings going up everywhere,” he said. “It’s hot.”
Toledano said operating Dior’s Russian business directly will allow the company to “further develop the market” and to meet the demanding service needs of its VIP clients. “We need to have our best people to serve these customers,” he added.
Dior had partnered for eight years with Jamilco, which still works with such brands as Hermès, Salvatore Ferragamo, Sonia Rykiel, Timberland, Naf Naf and Levi’s. But the industry trend is toward direct control.
Louis Vuitton entered the Russian retail market with its own stores in 2003, and others have followed suit. Last April, Chanel stopped its contract with partner Mercury — the retailer for such brands as Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Ermenegildo Zegna — and opened a company-owned boutique on Stoleshnikov. Like Dior’s, the Chanel unit also gives watches and fine jewelry a prominent showcase.
Swatch Group, also long associated with Jamilco, plans to open a directly operated Omega store here in about a month.