Burberry fetes new Moscow flagship with Russia a key market for the label

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Oct 21, 2019

Burberry has opened its new flagship store inside GUM in Moscow with the new boutique being in a prime position overlooking Red Square and being described by the company as “the latest expression of the Burberry in-store experience”.

The store “nods to the original architecture of the building”, featuring ‘groin vaults’ and panelled walls throughout. It’s on two floors and features Burberry’s latest collections for both men and women, including the new AW19 Tempest offer, plus the Thomas Burberry Monogram collection, the brand’s Heritage Trench Coat collection and all its new bags. 

It joins Burbery’s existing line-up in Russia’s capital that includes Petrovka and Vremena Goda. Marco Gentile, Burberry’s EMEIA president said “Russia is an important market” for the brand. 

Afluent Russians have a strong appetite for the the world’s biggest luxury names and travelling Russians have a significant impact on sales for those labels. Russians are one of the key shopping groups that help to drive the luxury market in Burberry’s home country, the UK, and giving them the ability to buy more of the product in their home country is an important move. 

But Russia, and particularly Moscow, also plays host to an increasingly diverse number of wealthy visitors. They’ve been seeing double-digit increases in tourist arrivals and with GUM/Red Square being tourist hotspots, the opening should give a big boost to the brand.

The importance of the market was underlined by an opening event late last week at the Demonstration Hall within GUM, with the party attended by over 300 guests including Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti and GUM CEO Teimuraz Guguberidze.

Guests entered the event though doors flanked with a pair of mirrored unicorn fawn sculptures into a dark space illuminated by light reflections from a giant mirrored fawn sculpture at its centre. DJs Red Axes and Nikita Zabelin played sets throughout the evening and Russian band Shortparis performed live on a mirrored stage.