Faux-fur coats take about 80% of Russia’s market as unit sales jump 2.3-fold

Faux fur dominates unit sales

Faux-fur coats accounted for about 80% of Russia’s coat market in January-October 2026, marking a sharp shift in consumer demand toward lower-priced alternatives to natural fur. New Retail, citing the press service of Russia’s Honest Sign product-marking system, reported that sales of faux-fur coats increased 2.3-fold in unit terms from the corresponding period of the previous year.

Sales revenue in the category nearly doubled to 355 million rubles. Faux-fur products were purchased almost four times as often as natural-fur coats during the period, meaning that close to four out of every five coats sold were made with artificial fur. The figures point to rapid volume expansion in a category whose average transaction value remains well below that of natural fur.

Natural fur retains the revenue lead

Despite losing ground in unit sales, natural-fur coats remained the larger market by value. Sales of natural-fur products reached 738.5 million rubles, compared with 355 million rubles for faux fur. The revenue gap reflects a substantial difference in average prices between the two categories.

The average price of a faux-fur coat declined by 7% year on year to 10,300 rubles. By contrast, the average natural-fur coat became 23% more expensive, reaching 80,800 rubles. A natural-fur coat therefore cost nearly eight times as much as a faux-fur product on average. For retailers, this creates two distinct commercial segments: a high-volume artificial-fur category and a lower-volume natural-fur category that still generates more revenue.

Preferences within the natural-fur segment also changed. In January-September 2025, mink coats were purchased 1.7 times as often as sheepskin products. In 2026, sheepskin moved ahead, with unit sales exceeding those of mink by 19%. The reversal suggests that consumers who continue to buy natural fur are shifting toward a different product mix as category prices rise.

Regional demand varies widely

The Urals Federal District recorded the highest per-capita demand for faux-fur coats, at 0.14 items per 1,000 residents. The Central Federal District followed at 0.05, while the Volga Federal District had the lowest rate at 0.02. In natural fur, the Central Federal District led with 0.07 coats per 1,000 residents, followed by the Northwestern district at 0.04 and the North Caucasian district at 0.03.

At the regional level, Chelyabinsk Region posted the strongest demand for faux fur, with 0.40 coats sold per 1,000 residents. Kostroma Region followed at 0.22, ahead of Astrakhan Region at 0.15, Sverdlovsk Region at 0.13 and Moscow at 0.12. For natural-fur coats, Magadan Region and Moscow shared the highest reported rate, at 0.19 items per 1,000 residents each.

The data give manufacturers and retailers a clearer view of a market splitting along price and material lines. Faux fur now controls the large majority of unit demand, supported by a falling average price, while natural fur depends on much higher ticket values and increasingly favors sheepskin over mink. Suppliers will need to align inventories with pronounced regional differences as well as the widening price gap between the two categories.