Under the promotion of the friendly atmosphere between China and Russia, shops specializing in Russian imported products have sparked a consumer craze in various cities in China since December last year, including Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou. However, due to issues like “domestic products flooding the market” and “operating without certification,” these shops are now facing a wave of closures.
These shops, such as “Russian Goods Center” and “Russian National Pavilion,” began attracting attention in several cities last December. Their eye-catching blue background with white lettering, along with decorations like bears and Russian dolls, created an impression of Russia. The shops featured slogans like “Authentic Russian goods” and “China-Russia trade,” attracting consumers. While some of these Russian goods shops operated physical stores, others set up temporary stalls. Driven by curiosity, there were instances of long queues at checkout counters. However, after eight months, these shops are now facing massive closures due to issues such as excessive store expansion, misleading advertisements, and product quality concerns.
An employee at a Russian goods shop in Shanghai mentioned that most of their products are sourced from Russian product agents in Heilongjiang Province. Currently, the shop is running discount promotions in preparation for renovations and plans to introduce more Russian products by adjusting their store space.
The shops offer a variety of products such as wine, juice, biscuits, candies, chocolates, oils, honey, soaps, and more. Many product packages display Russian text as the base, with additional Chinese labels. While some items are labeled as being from Russia, there are also canned fruit juices labeled as being from Vietnam.
In January of this year, the Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau received numerous complaints regarding Russian goods shops, including allegations of “counterfeit domestic goods masquerading as imports,” where products claimed to be from Russia were actually produced in China. After inspecting 47 shops, the bureau initiated investigations into 6 of them for operating without licenses, false advertising, and failure to register food operators.
Some shops heavily promoted themselves as “Russian National Pavilion” to attract consumers, attempting to mislead them.
The Russian Embassy in China clarified in January via Weibo that the officially authorized Russian National Pavilion is limited to venues supported by Russian export centers and warned consumers to be wary of counterfeit Russian imports.
Using platforms like Dianping and Amap, searches for Russian goods shops in Shanghai yield very few results. Some shops are no longer in operation, like the former Russian goods shop in Yu Garden area, which has been replaced by a “global snack collection store.” Russian goods shops in cities such as Hangzhou, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Chongqing, and Chengdu are also progressively closing.
At the end of last year, “Russian Goods Centers” popped up in many places in mainland China, including Shenzhen. However, investigations revealed that most products in these shops were manufactured in Northeast China, not imported from Russia. Industry insiders suggested that some distributors may have used a model of purchasing Russian trademarks to produce goods domestically in China.
In a Russian goods shop in Chengdu, a wide range of products are available, including honey, soy sauce, pasta, biscuits, fruit oatmeal, powdered milk, pork sausage, all labeled in Russian. Nonetheless, many products indicate their origin to be in Northeast China, such as milk powder from Qiqihar, Heilongjiang, Russian-style pork sausage from Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, and fruit oatmeal also from Mudanjiang.
A journalist contacted the manufacturer of a fruit oatmeal product in a Russian goods shop, and the operator confirmed that it is not an imported product from Russia. They stated that while it’s not imported, the product’s raw materials may contain Russian ingredients.
The incident sparked discussions online, with netizens in Guangdong mentioning similar shops in areas like MixC World in Shenzhen. Many people noted that most products in these shops are not actually imported, with comments like “I’ve never seen these in Russia” and “Most are rebranded products from Northeast China.”
Some customers only realized that the products were not imported after making a purchase, saying, “I bought from there twice, only to find out it’s fake” and “75% of the chocolates taste different from what my colleague from the Northeast brought, not bitter at all. I’ve been cheated.”
According to Blue Whale News, several franchised Russian goods shop headquarters revealed that their product distribution consists of around 80% Russian imports and 20% domestic goods. Ham, bread, some powdered milk products are produced in Northeast China, while the rest are original imports. Franchisees can choose the proportion of imported/domestic products without any mandatory requirements from the headquarters.
Reports from Interface News highlighted industry insiders mentioning a process where bulk powdered milk is exported, then re-imported, labeled as Russian, and produced domestically after a regulatory water change in Russia. This practice apparently does not violate any legal regulations concerning product production and labeling.