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- Dry residue: alcohol markets began to reduce their networks after many years of expansion
Dry residue: alcohol markets began to reduce their networks after many years of expansion
The largest alcohol retailers began to reduce the number of stores after several years of active expansion, Izvestia found out. This trend has affected the networks "Red & White", "Bristol", "VinLab" and "Fragrant World". At the same time, the decline was more noticeable in the non-network segment: the number of such outlets decreased by almost 8% over the year. Against the background of declining alcohol sales, rising prices and tightening regional restrictions, federal chains are moving from expansion to a review of development strategies and improving the efficiency of existing stores.
How alcohol markets close
By the end of September 2026, the VinLab network had 2,222 stores compared to 2,225 at the end of June. Thus, in the third quarter, the number of outlets decreased by three, Izvestia calculated based on the company's financial statements. This is the first reduction in the total number of stores, including openings and closures, since at least 2021, and probably the only one since the chain was founded in 2010. Currently, VinLab is temporarily not considering new sites for store locations, a source close to it told Izvestia.
The company conducts normal operating activities, in which some stores are closed and others are opened, a representative of the chain told Izvestia. According to him, this process continued in the third quarter. In the second half of the year, the company focused on improving the efficiency of existing stores and optimizing their structure to increase the marginality of the retail business, the source said.
VinLab is one of the largest alcohol retail chains. The company was founded in 2010, and its first store opened in Nakhodka, Primorsky Krai. The network belongs to Novabev Group (until 2023 — Beluga Group). According to the results of the first half of the year, the revenue of PJSC VinLab under IFRS amounted to 51.1 billion rubles, which is 7.2% more than in the same period of 2025. At the same time, net profit for the same period decreased 2.9 times, to 790 million rubles, and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation) decreased by 16.7%, to 4.5 billion rubles, according to the company's financial statements.
The expansion of alcohol retail has slowed down after several years of active growth, admits Alexander Stavtsev, Vice president of the Russian Association of Retail Market Experts and head of WineRetail.
According to INFOLine, at the end of June 2026 (the latest available data), the Krasnoe & Beloe and Bristol chains (part of Mercury Retail Holding) together had 28,253 stores, compared to 28,258 at the end of December 2025. Thus, in six months their combined network has decreased by five points. In the first quarter, companies closed 18 more stores than they opened. As a result, the number of Red & White dots decreased by four, to 21,478, and Bristol by 14, to 6,762. In the second quarter, the chains partially recouped the decline, opening a total of 13 stores, according to INFOLine data. For Krasny & Bely, which has been operating since 2006, the network's decline in the first quarter was the first in its history, the industry publication Shopper's noted.
By the end of August, the Aromatic World chain had 984 stores, which is 3.1% less than a year earlier, according to A.LIST calculations. The Drinx wine store chain, part of the Luding Group, has also suspended its development plans, according to a commercial real estate consultant familiar with the situation, according to the company's top managers. According to A.LIST's calculations, in August, the number of non-chain alcohol stores decreased by 7.7% year-on-year, to 65,096.
Among the major players in specialized retail, only the Simple Group, which manages SimpleWine wine stores, continues to develop its own network, said a partner of the company who knows about this from its top management. SimpleWine has moved to a "more targeted expansion," its representative confirmed. According to him, customers are becoming more rational in choosing wine, so the company focuses on the efficiency of existing wine factories and the quality of locations, rather than the number of outlets.
Izvestia sent inquiries to Krasnoe & Beloe, Luding Group and Fragrant World.
What influenced the development of alcohol retail
Each new store becomes more difficult to make profitable due to increased competition between neighboring locations of the same chain, stated the founder of A.LIST, President of the Guild of Alcohol Experts (ALCOPRO) Andrey Moskovsky. At the same time, according to him, the reduction of non-network retail is now the main source of growth of federal networks. They don't have to open new stores: additional sales are provided by outlets that have closed or stopped selling strong alcohol, the expert explained.
The slowdown in market growth was influenced by regional restrictions on alcohol sales, noted Alexander Stavtsev. Since the beginning of 2025, they have been introduced or tightened in a number of regions, including the Vologda and Moscow regions, Buryatia and the Trans-Baikal Territory. In the Vologda Region, these measures forced the network to change the format of its work: Bristol became B-products, and Krasnoe & Beloe stopped selling alcohol, Andrei Moskovsky said.
An increase in alcohol prices may also hinder the development of specialized alcohol retail, according to a top manager of a large retail chain. Since January 1, 2026, the minimum retail price of a half—liter bottle of vodka with a strength of 40% has increased by 17.2% - from 349 to 409 rubles, according to an order from the Ministry of Finance. The excise tax on alcohol with a strength of over 18% increased by 11.4%, to 824 rubles per liter of anhydrous alcohol. As a result, the average bill is growing, but buyers are becoming more price-sensitive and less likely to make impulsive purchases, the Izvestia source explains.
In January – August 2026 (the latest available data), 613.5 million dal of alcoholic beverages were sold in Russia, 2% less than in the same period a year earlier, according to the materials of Rosalokoltabakkontrol (RATK).
According to Evotor, in the first nine months of 2026, the number of receipts in non-chain alcohol supermarkets decreased by 17% year-on-year, and the average cash register turnover of one store decreased by 7% over the same period. In SimpleWine, traffic decreased by 5%, while revenue increased by 10% and in-kind sales increased by 7%, a company representative said. In Vinlab, traffic and comparable sales increased by 14.6% and 24%, respectively, according to the network's reports.
The statistics of the largest chains so far indicate the end of a period of rapid expansion rather than the mass closure of alcohol markets, experts say. In the future, we should expect rather more selective development, Andrei Moskovsky said. According to him, a reduction in the key rate may bring back some of the deferred projects, but the growth rate of 2024 should not be expected. The vacated market share does not mean that there are still as many profitable places to open familiar stores, he concluded.
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