MOSCOW, March 25 (RIA Novosti) - Muscovites have increased their visits to shoe repair outlets instead of buying new shoes to try and save money amid the financial crisis, the department head of the capital's consumer market and services said on Wednesday.
"I have said several times before that demand by Muscovites for services [industry] has fallen during the crisis," Vladimir Malyshkov said. "Many have turned to washing their clothes themselves and not using dry cleaning and laundry services; however, demand for shoe repair has increased in Moscow."
Malyshkov also said that fewer large shopping centers would open this year in Moscow because of the financial downturn. He said most of the large construction projects have either been frozen or are continuing at a much slower pace.
According to him, some 1,500 stores would open in Moscow this year, including the largest shopping center in Russia with an overall area of 241,000 square meters (2.6 million sq. ft.).
