Аннотация: This article examines whether the expansion of giant international companies into the new market can change consumer habits and preferences of the local community. The article is based on the analysis of the Russian Federation market in 2000s - the time when the key international players, major retailers like Auchan, Metro Cash and Carry, IKEA, etc. started their operations on Russian market. Good prospects due to the potential rise of the number of middle class representatives, plans for fast joining WTO were overshadowed by the consumer’s behaviour which was formed during the time of Soviet Union and was represented by the popularity of open markets, bazaars, small convenient stores and the unpreparedness of the population to the new formats already popular on the west. During the analysis it is going to be sorted out whether key market players managed to avoid the main obstacle and change conservative habits of Russians.The methodology used in this article is a mixed-methods approach, covering quantitive and qualitative pieces of information. The necessary data was extracted from different sources: newspaper and scientific articles on retail, Russian trade laws. Regarding the quantitive approach, it was vital to gain all the essential statistics and numeric information which gives the opportunity to reach an answer if the main international companies expanding into new market were able to change consumer’s habits.