The video seems legit until a few red flags in the grocery store, where he shows R199 a kilo tomatoes saying how big the price is “amidst the tomato season whereas the normal price is several times less”, and then similarly prices potatoes “which is normally R20”.
First, he picks the most expensive of these in the organic aisle when the regular price is much less, second the tomato season in Russia is in August and in May they are traditionally overpriced.
Now, both products can be had at the same store for much less, or much lesser in other stores, tomatoes like half than and potatoes for third.
And malls are normally not busy on busy days afternoons.
That betrays the video as propaganda.
There are indeed some shops temporarily closing, but it needs to be taken into account that the very same products can be imported parallelly and from cheaper countries, whereas in Russia the distributors are setting the prices of premium market. For one thing an H&M shirt priced $49 in Russia is only $19 in Turkey. As a parallel import it is going to cost $29 max, which is good for the consumer and bad for the original company, and that’s if the gray dealers want the original brand. On the other hand the H&M is ordering its produce in Asia and their contractors don’t mind to produce extra product putting some other label on it and the very same shirt is going to cost $9. The Russian retailers are currently in process of solving the problem around the same lines.
The electronics traders already solved it right now, and iPhone 12 Pro Max can be bought in regular store for half to 2/3 the price it was at specialized Apple stores in February.
The same is happening on the auto market where the official dealers tied to the manufacturers are trying to sell dwindling supply for like $500k for a Mercedes GLS and it is obvious that nobody is buying. Meanwhile, with the parallel import legalized, the gray dealers are bringing cars from third countries at lesser prices than they were two months ago.
Car and electronics markets are higher margin and lower in volume compared to clothing and they were quicker to solve it, the same is going to happen on clothing market even if it is going to take more time.
Thank you very much for your detailed information! I sincerely appreciate your perspective here!
I’m also hearing the exchange rates at the borders are ridiclous. People leaving Russia and trading their rubles are getting robbed 800 to a dollar on the Estonian border. Note that the trades are on the Russian side, black market traders get arrested in Estonia.