Banners sporting the new brand name ‘MAAG’ already adorn storefronts in major shopping malls
© Sputnik / Pavel Bednyakov
Former Zara stores in Russia are to reopen under a new name, MAAG, by June 1, news outlet Izvestia reported on Friday, citing Dmitry Tomilin, board member of the Russian Council of Shopping Centers.
Tomilin told the news outlet that the deadline had been agreed between the new owner of the stores and Russia’s shopping centers, where many of the stores are located.
According to the MAAG website, it plans to open some 60 stores across Russia in the nearest future, including at Moscow’s largest shopping centers, ‘Yevropeysky,’ ‘Okhotny Ryad’ and ‘Aviapark.’ Stores will also be reopened in St Petersburg, Chelyabinsk, Surgut, Khabarovsk, Volgograd, Krasnodar, and other major cities.
The stores used to belong to Spanish clothing conglomerate Inditex, but the company closed them shortly after the start of Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, later deciding to leave the Russian market altogether amid sanctions pressure.
Late last month, the company secured approval from the Russian government to sell its business in the country to Fashion and More Management DMCC. The company is registered in a UAE freezone. Its license manager is Hassan Ghaleb Daher, one of the shareholders of Azadea, a Lebanese subsidiary of investment company Daher Group, which owns one of the largest shopping centers in the world, the Dubai Mall.
Apart from Zara, the new owner is also expected to reopen other former Inditex stores Pull&Bear, Bershka and Massimo Dutti, under new brand names – Dub, Ecru, and Vilet, respectively.
Former Inditex stores in Moscow have already posted banners with new logos and “opening soon” signs in their storefronts. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Yevtukhov earlier this month said that clothing collections for the stores have already received their final touches and brought to Russia.
MAAG this week presented its new collection on the brand’s website. It features, apart from the regular apparel for men, women and kids, a batch of clothing designed for the metaverse.
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