SHOPPING IN THE CITY: WHAT AND WHERE DO RUSSIAN TOURISTS SHOP?

When it comes to luxury fashion, where in Singapore do ussian customers shop, what are their spending habits and what kind of clients are they?

103rd Meridian East brings you the answers.

Singapore has always been a country that takes its shopping seriously, and now with its S$40 million Orchard Road rejuvenation complete and new malls in the form of ION Orchard and Mandarin Gallery featuring new flagship stores and international labels, it’s no wonder that Russians in need of luxury retail therapy because of the current financial crisis have been flocking to its shores. Of course they’re helped along the way by top-ranking restaurants, five-star accommodation, attractive travel deals and premium events like the World Gourmet Summit and Singapore Grand Prix Season.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) reported that in 2007, Singapore welcomed over 44,000 Russian visitors, who spent an average of S$1,284 per person during their time here, while Indonesia (1,765,000) and China (1,079,000) were Singapore’s top two visitor-generating markets in 2008. From January to July 2009, 28,861 Russians visited Singapore, with the majority being 25 to 44 years of age and staying for a period of two days.

Andrew Phua, STB’s Director of Tourism Shopping and Dining – Destination Experience Group, comments, “Singapore presents to visitors a wide array of shopping options that cater to many customer groups from around the world. As a key tourism pillar, shopping is the top expenditure for visitors to Singapore. In 2007, visitors spent S$3.5 billion on shopping here. Amongst the items purchased, fashion and accessories made up the largest share at 33 per cent. Singapore has enjoyed healthy growth in visitor arrivals from Russia over the last five years. The upward trend in visitor arrivals from Russia reached close to 57,000 last year.

“Hoteliers have given anecdotal feedback that Russian tourists enjoy shopping at premium shopping malls like Hilton Hotel’s shopping gallery, Palais Renaissance and 1 Nassim. Luxury brand retailers such as Loewe noted that sales to Russians grew 142 per cent in 2008 as compared to 2007. In 2008, they also spent the most per visit. According to Loewe, Russian customers, particularly those from outside Moscow, have remarked that Singapore is a convenient and safe place to shop in and that Orchard Road offers a diverse shopping experience, where they can find many of the world’s leading brands within a stone’s throw of one another.”

Tod’s and Hogan are also popular with Russians, mainly in their 30s and 40s, who ranked third in terms of clients by nationality in 2008, after Indonesians and Malaysians, and contribute approximately six to eight per cent of total business. At Tod’s, the majority of its Russian clients are tourists, with a handful of regulars who are residents. Men prefer the trendy Gommino driving shoe in assorted hues, while women pick out a variety of styles. For Hogan, clients go for colourful, flatter sneakers like Olympia and Hi-Sprint. Though Tod’s and Hogan’s Russian clients would not hesitate to buy two pairs of shoes or more (averaging S$1,200 for each purchase) if they liked the style, because of the recession, walk-in traffic and spending have dropped.

A Tod’s and Hogan’s spokesperson discloses, “As a tourist-driven destination, Singapore’s top attractions are marketed overseas, and this includes shopping, wining and dining, attraction spots like Sentosa, etc., which contribute to an overall holiday experience. And when people are happy with their travel experience in terms of accommodation, good food and beverages, good service, etc., they shop!”

Fashion houses are in consensus that although Russian customers are generally mild-mannered, polite and well-dressed, they speak little English and ask few questions. Compared to Indonesians and other European tourists, they usually don’t enquire about the prices of items.

Madeleine Ho, Marketing Director of Hermès Singapore (Retail), says, “Russian tourists do shop at Hermès in Singapore. They tend to come during particular seasons. We have noticed a drop in Russian tourists recently, but we are not sure if this is due to the crisis. ”Salvatore Ferragamo has also suffered a decline in its Russian customer numbers and spending, who usually buy more than one item at a ime. They tend to favour women’s bags and wallets, as the brand receives many more female clients than male.

Luxury fashion retailer Club 21 (with brands like DKNY, Calvin Klein, Paul Smith, Mulberry, Marc Jacobs and Giorgio Armani in its stable, whose prices range from about S$1,500 to $5,000) has observed that Russian tourist traffic at their boutiques increases during the summer and winter holidays. While more customers are women than men, Russian clients rank second in terms of spending, after Indonesians. Though preferring big-ticket items like coats and evening dresses, the number of Russian tourists shopping with Club 21 has fallen as compared to 2008, when it received almost 2,000 Russian customers. One of its brands, Dolce & Gabbana, is popular with Russians because of its sexy and glamorous style. Alexander McQueen, Azzedine Alaia and Lanvin are well-liked brands, too.

With so many designer-label choices for Russians, it’s unlikely that their interest in Singapore as a high-end fashion shopping destination will abate any time soon. Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle