Chief executive Saj Shah told Retail Week that Jane Norman will open four stores in the country from next year and could have as many as six stores in Moscow alone.
Shah said the retailer, which has 100 stores in Germany, Cyprus, The Netherlands and Scandinavia, was eyeing overseas locations as the UK market slows.
“Russia is where the money is. The UK customer is suffering from the credit crunch,” Shah said.
In the three months to the end of June, Jane Norman – which is owned by a Baugur-backed consortium – has been hit by a 6 per cent sales drop in the UK.
Shah said the decline is in line with its UK peers and the retailer would make up the shortfall in the run up to Christmas.The Russian retail market was worth£234 billion this year.
Shah added that Jane Norman had not had problems arranging its Russian push, despite the diplomatic stand-off between Britain and Russia. Last week, Retail Week reported that Debenhams had paused its plans for expansion in the country.
Shah claimed Russia will respond well to Jane Norman because it has built up a wealthy Middle Eastern and Russian customer base from its launch in the Middle East.
“Karen Millen is number one in Russia and Karen Millen is an upgrade from Jane Norman, so the girls will buy Jane Norman,” he said.
The retailer is also poised to open further stores in Scandinavia with a target of four stores in Sweden, two in Denmark and four in Norway, as well as further expansion in Holland.
Jane Norman opened its first standalone German store in Cologne in June and will open 30 stores in the Middle East over the next four years. It launched its transactional web site two weeks ago.
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