Tesco's F&F clothing stores seen opening in Russia in June

By Olga Sichkar

MOSCOW, March 26 (Reuters) - Tesco Plc (Xetra: 852647 - news) 's F&F clothing brand will open its first outlets in Russia in the capital Moscow in June, a local partner of retailing businesses said on Thursday.

Debruss, which is the Russian franchise operator for British department store group Debenhams Plc (Other OTC: DBHSF - news) , said it would open two F&F outlets in June, followed by one more in August, in Moscow shopping malls.

Two of the three will be shops within Debenhams stores, it said.

Tesco declined to comment.

Sources familiar with the matter said in February last year that F&F would partner with Debruss to expand into Russia.

Tesco, which launched F&F in the UK and Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) in 2001, has been expanding the brand internationally.

The move into Russia comes as the local economy heads towards recession and consumer confidence touches record lows following Western sanctions against Moscow over its role in the Ukraine conflict and a drop in oil prices.

Debruss is opening its second Debenhams store in the Aviapark mall in Moscow in August. (Reporting by Olga Sichkar; Additional reporting and writing by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Elizabeth Piper and Mark Potter)