Plastinina Plagued by Recession

Even the super wealthy are plagued by the U.S. recession. In May, we reported that 16-year-old Russian Heiress Kira Plastinina was bringing her fashion line stateside aggressively opening boutiques in New York and LA. With what appeared to be an intense and well thought out marketing plan, turns out to be reversed as news streamed to our offices today with plans to close almost all stores that were opened. Kira's father, Russian entrepreneur Sergei Plastinin was said to have spent over $80 million opening the stores here. The brand already has 40 stores in their native Russia, two in the Ukraine and two in Kazakhstan and they planned to open 500 around the globe by 2010. With the financial crisis underway in the states, plans have changed and only two stores will remain open. "The number of shoppers in the U.S. fell significantly," Plastinina said. "It became much harder to find money for investment because of the financial crisis. We had enormous plans: New York, then India and China in 2009." Time will tell if the brand can re-enter the U.S. in a more shopper-friendly climate.