Alcohol Chains Close Stores Amid Sales Drop
Russia's largest alcohol chains have, for the first time in their history, begun closing stores. Russian alcohol retailers — 'Krasnoe & Belaye', 'Bristol', 'VinLab', and 'Aromatny Mir' — have started closing stores, reports Izvestia.
Consensus
- The largest alcohol retail chains in Russia — 'Krasnoye & Beloye,' 'Bristol,' 'VinLab,' and 'Aromatny Mir' — have started closing stores.
- This marks the first time in the history of these chains that they have reduced their number of stores.
- The closures are linked to rising prices, declining sales, and tighter regional regulations on alcohol sales.
- The number of non-chain alcohol stores in Russia fell by 7.7% over the past year, reaching 65,096.
- The closures are not limited to chain stores; Drinx, a company managing wine shops under Luding Group, has also halted expansion.
Points of divergence
- The main cause of the closures is deeper demographic and behavioral shifts, including a smaller generation of traditional alcohol consumers and a growing trend toward healthy lifestyles, with increased interest in cocktails, beer, and cider. — riamo
- The reduction in alcohol production in the first half of 2026 was due to a 31% increase in excise duties on still wines and a 28% increase on sparkling wines, as well as a change in excise payment timing from product shipment to raw spirit purchase starting July 2026. — riamo
- The increase in excise duties and the change in payment timing negatively affected factory working capital and production volumes. — riamo
- The production of still and sparkling wines decreased by 12.6% and 14% respectively in the first half of 2026. — riamo
- The production of vodka has declined for two consecutive years, by 4.2%. — riamo
- The number of 'VinLab' stores decreased by three in the third quarter of 2026, reaching 2,222 — the first reduction since the chain's founding in 2010. — tg_moscowtimes_ru
- The net profit of 'VinLab' fell nearly threefold in the first half of 2026 to 790 million rubles, despite a 7.2% increase in revenue to 51.1 billion rubles. — tg_moscowtimes_ru
- The number of stores for 'Krasnoye & Beloye' decreased by four, which is the first time in its history. — tg_moscowtimes_ru
- The number of 'Bristol' stores decreased by 14, and both 'Bristol' and 'Krasnoye & Beloye' together had 28,253 stores at the end of June, five fewer than at the end of 2025. — tg_moscowtimes_ru
- The number of 'Aromatny Mir' stores decreased to 984 by August, a 3.1% drop year-on-year. — tg_moscowtimes_ru
Coverage (2 sources)
- Alcohol chains close stores: expert names true reason — РИАМО
- Russia's largest alcohol chains for the first time in their history began closing stores — The Moscow Times