OREANDA-NEWS   This year, Russia's largest alcohol retailers began reducing the number of stores, and in the non-chain segment, the number of outlets decreased by 7.7 percent over the year. This is stated in the Izvestia article.

In the third quarter, the VinLab chain had three fewer stores (2,222 locations) — this is the first case since at least 2021 and, most likely, the only one since the network was founded in 2010. Currently, a source close to the company says that new sites for opening stores are not being considered.

The VINLAB representative indicated that in the second half of the year, the retailer will focus on improving the efficiency of existing outlets and optimizing their structure. According to the company's financial statements, in the first half of 2025, its net profit decreased 2.9 times, to 790 million rubles, while revenue increased by 7.2 percent, to 51.1 billion rubles.
 
According to InfoLine, in January-June, the total number of outlets of the Krasnoe & Beloe and Bristol chains (part of Mercury Retail Holding) decreased by five units compared to the end of 2025. In the first quarter, the first chain lost four stores, and the second — 13 stores. For Red & White, the reduction was the first in 20 years of operation.

Calculations of A.The LIST shows that by the end of August, the Fragrant World network had 984 outlets, which is three less than in the same period a year earlier.

Andrey Moskovsky, founder of A.LIST and president of the Guild of Alcohol Experts, pointed out that federal retailers are using the closure of non-chain retail to increase their sales, so opening new outlets is not so relevant yet. Alexander Stavtsev, Vice President of the Russian Association of Retail Market Experts and head of WineRetail, adds that regional restrictions on alcohol sales have also led to a slowdown in the market.

According to Moskovsky, the situation is also affected by rising alcohol prices, provided by government measures, which reduces work efficiency. In general, experts believe that the statistics of the largest networks do not yet allow us to conclude about the crisis, rather, we are talking about the end of a period of rapid expansion and the transition to selective development.