In Photos: Departed Western Companies Get Russian Rebranding
Over the past year, Russian consumers have been deprived of some of their favorite stores and brands as scores of Western companies have either temporarily suspended their business operations or completely pulled out of Russia in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian companies have rushed to absorb the properties, infrastructure and even personnel of their erstwhile foreign competitors, leading to a wave of new homegrown brands, such as McDonald’s replacement Vkusno i Tochka.
In some instances, companies that initially shuttered their stores in Russia have planned to reopen through different corporate entities, such as the Spanish multinational clothing retailer Zara, which this summer will return to Russia under the name of its United Arab Emirates-based franchisee, Daher Group.
But not all Western companies have received the rebranding treatment, nor have they been able to find a local buyer. One such case is Swedish retail giant IKEA, which closed its four factories and 17 stores across Russia last year, leaving a hole in the furniture market that Russian manufacturers have so far proved unable to fill themselves.
However, that has not stopped Belarusian IKEA lookalike, Swed House, from venturing into the Russian market. According to Bulat Shakirov, CEO of the Russian Council of Shopping Centers, 10 Swed House stores may open in Moscow this year, while dozens more are expected to open across Russia in the coming years.
Russian companies have rushed to absorb the properties, infrastructure and even personnel of their erstwhile foreign competitors, leading to a wave of new homegrown brands, such as McDonald’s replacement Vkusno i Tochka.
In some instances, companies that initially shuttered their stores in Russia have planned to reopen through different corporate entities, such as the Spanish multinational clothing retailer Zara, which this summer will return to Russia under the name of its United Arab Emirates-based franchisee, Daher Group.
But not all Western companies have received the rebranding treatment, nor have they been able to find a local buyer. One such case is Swedish retail giant IKEA, which closed its four factories and 17 stores across Russia last year, leaving a hole in the furniture market that Russian manufacturers have so far proved unable to fill themselves.
However, that has not stopped Belarusian IKEA lookalike, Swed House, from venturing into the Russian market. According to Bulat Shakirov, CEO of the Russian Council of Shopping Centers, 10 Swed House stores may open in Moscow this year, while dozens more are expected to open across Russia in the coming years.

Customers visit a Swed House store at the Shchelkovsky shopping mall in Moscow.
Sergei Savostyanov / TASS

Shoppers at Swed House stand in line and wait to make their purchases.
Sergei Savostyanov / TASS

The Belarusian Swed House sells items intended to look like those made by retail giant IKEA.
Moskva News Agency

Customers at Swed House in Moscow sift through a pile of stuffed animals.

Shoppers browse furniture items at the Belarusian IKEA lookalike.

Customers take photos of the Swed House store in Moscow.

A customer leaves the flagship store for Maag, the rebranding of the multinational fast-fashion brand Zara.
Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP

Maag opened its doors to customers in Moscow on April 26.
Vladimir Gerdo / TASS

Shoppers at the newly opened Maag clothing chain.
Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP

People stand outside of a St. Petersburg storefront for the Maag clothing chain.
Peter Kovalev / TASS

Rostic's, the rebranded version of KFC, opened its first location in central Moscow this week after the U.S. fast-food chain exited Russia over the war in Ukraine.
Sergei Vedyashkin / Moskva News Agency

The flagship location for Rostic's was fully packed at its grand opening on April 25.
Sergei Vedyashkin / Moskva News Agency

Baskets of chicken at Rostic's bearing the red-and-white colors of KFC's branding.
Sergei Vedyashkin / Moskva News Agency

The menu at the rebranded fast-food chain has remained mostly unchanged.
Sergei Vedyashkin / Moskva News Agency

Two customers at Rostic's grand opening pose with oversized menu items.
Sergei Vedyashkin / Moskva News Agency