Impact of Import Substitution Policy on Domestic Chain Retail: New Reality

Abstract

The recent geopolitical events related to the special military operation have caused a new wave of economic sanctions against Russia. Western sanctions were bound to affect the activity of the trade sphere, in particular, network retail. The response actions of the Russian Federation aimed at improving effectiveness of the import substitution policy are proving fruitful. In view of a new retail trade policy, the article examines some issues of import substitution in terms of filling the business niches vacated by former Western partners. It is indicated that many entrepreneurs in the field, previously unable to compete with foreign brands, have received an excellent opportunity to fulfill their own projects, among other things, by means of parallel imports. Having studied and analyzed the latest regulations and modern literature on the subject, the author proposes a hypothesis stating that the brand void left by Western companies after withdrawing from the Russian market should be effectively filled with domestic brands. With methods of statistical and factor analysis and based on the brand substitution strategy, a mechanism of applying the policy of import substitution in the field of domestic network retail is proposed.