The Rendez-Vous chain of stores took Russian celebrities to Courchevel in honor of its anniversary. You already understand what happened next, right?

Comparisons with a “naked party”, cancellation on social networks, denunciations and even a fire

The chain of clothing and footwear stores Rendez-Vous celebrated its anniversary on a grand scale, bringing “friends of the brand” from among Russian celebrities to Courchevel. This expensive PR tour outraged social media users, State Duma deputies, pro-government media and activists. The brand is reproached for wasting money, and even in an “unfriendly” country, while participants in the war with Ukraine are “shedding blood for the well-being of the Russian people and the future of the Russian world.” The top manager of Rendez-Vous was accused of being from Ukraine, and the designer was accused of posting “unconventional” photos. To top it all off, the Rendez-Vous store in Courchevel - the one that was advertised by celebrities - was closed due to a fire.

“Courchevel has become more than just a point on the map for us”

The Russian chain of shoe and clothing stores Rendez-Vous (“Rendezvous”) organized a PR tour to Courchevel for “friends of the brand” in mid-January. Among the 14 people whom the network invited to the French ski resort in honor of its 25th anniversary were journalist Ksenia Sobchak, stylist Alexander Rogov, bloggers Oksana Samoilova and Elena Perminova. The tour participants promoted the Rendez-Vous boutique in Courchevel, went skiing, attended a red carpet gala dinner and listened to singer Patricia Kaas.

“Courchevel has become for us not just a point on the map, but a meeting place. We are grateful to our brand friends who accepted the invitation to share these days with us. Your presence and energy made this trip truly alive,” Rendez-Vous thanked in his Telegram channel.

But many other Telegram channels were skeptical about the idea of ​​celebrating the Russian brand’s birthday in Courchevel. The social life channel “Heroine of Tatler” called this a way to “very expensively and effectively ruin your reputation.” The “It Should Have Been Yesterday” channel, dedicated to PR and communications, suggested that after such a “demonstrative party,” Rendez-Vous is associated “with isolation and show-off.” But the brand’s PR move received the most attention (and criticism) from pro-government media.

“It’s like a ‘naked party’, only here they flashed not their bare bottoms, but ostentatious luxury”

The Baza Telegram channel, which is part of the News Media Holding of media manager Aram Gabrelyanov, released at least five revealing posts about Rendez-Vous. They alleged that the company significantly cut employee salaries (Rendez-Vous denies this), sold low-quality goods and transferred money to Cyprus.

The Life publication from the same holding reported that the tour to Courchevel, which could have cost Rendez-Vous 30-40 million rubles, outraged “ordinary Russians who make the real revenue for the shoe store chain.” “Why organize such expensive events in the midst of the Northern War, especially in a country unfriendly to us? <…> This story is not just about a party. This is a story about choice and attitude towards your country. That is why ordinary people had fair questions about the Rendez-Vous network,” wrote Life.

Channel Five, part of the National Media Group (NMG) , valued the tour to Courchevel at 50 million rubles - and also emphasized that this is “inappropriate during the SVO.” “It’s like Ivleeva’s naked party, only here they sparkled not with their bare bottoms, but with ostentatious luxury. Thanks to the scandal, interesting details came to light. For example, that the owner , while earning money in Russia, invested money in real estate in France for years. And four days after the start of the SVO, he left the business and left,” said the presenter.

“While our soldiers and officers are shedding blood for the well-being of the Russian people and the future of the Russian world”

Social media users also expressed outrage at the tour to Courchevel. On Rendez-Vous's Instagram, dozens of mocking and critical comments appeared under posts about this trip. Their authors were interested in why the brand chose a resort in France, and not in Russia, as the location for the PR campaign, and why it invited “top stars who would never wear Rendez-Vous in life,” and not one of its real customers. “How many employees of the company were laid off or how many had their salaries cut for the check for this event?” - read the comment that received the most likes (almost 1,750).

According to calculations by the digital agency Sidorin Lab, which promotes brands on the Internet, during the week from January 15 to 22, more than 18 thousand messages about the Rendez-Vous tour appeared on social networks (87% of them were comments), the total reach of which exceeded 10 million users. According to Sidorin Lab, the tone of 65% of posts was neutral, 32% was negative, and only 3% was positive.

State Duma deputies Vitaly Milonov , Elena Drapeko and Mikhail Romanov also joined in the cancellation of Rendez-Vous. The latter suggested that law enforcement agencies check the work of the brand, the owners of which, in his words, “exist in their own ideas, divorced from reality, while our soldiers and officers shed blood for the well-being of the Russian people and the future of the Russian world.”

“Call of the People” found the designer Rendez-Vous with “wrong” photos on social networks. And he demanded that the entire company be checked for “LGBT propaganda”

Life and Channel Five named Alina Mieva, Rendez-Vous director of strategic marketing, as the alleged organizer of the tour to Courchevel. The Shot telegram channel reported that she is 26 years old, her real name is Shaimieva, she was born in Ukraine and received Russian citizenship not so long ago, in 2023. The channel also claimed that she previously worked as a waitress and did webcam , but then moved to Moscow, quickly became rich and entered the top management of Rendez-Vous. The channel hinted that this could happen thanks to a connection with Hovhannes Bakhchinyan, the former CEO of the company.

After Mieva, the new Rendez-Vous designer Nikita Chekrygin also attracted attention. On January 30, Shot wrote that conservative activists from the “Call of the People” movement studied his social networks and found photos of “non-traditional orientation” in them. In addition, Chekrygin allegedly participates in gay chat rooms dedicated to one-night stands. Representatives of the “Call of the People” appealed to the Prosecutor General’s Office with a request to evaluate Chekrygin’s activity on the Internet and check the entire Rendez-Vous network for “LGBT propaganda.”

The Internet fire was followed by a real fire

In addition to the PR scandal, which is far from over, the Rendez-Vous chain encountered another problem this week. Her store in Courchevel - the same one where celebrities who came from Russia posed - stopped working due to a fire.

The fire did not occur in the store itself, but on the top floor of the five-star Grandes Alpes hotel, in whose building it is located. The fire started on the evening of January 27 and was extinguished for almost a day. None of the hotel guests or employees were injured; six firefighters suffered minor injuries, mostly from smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire is still unknown. According to one version, it started in the chimney.

The premises of the Rendez-Vous boutique were not damaged, nor were the employees, but work was suspended until official reports from emergency services were received, Konstantin Tyutrin, the chain’s communications director, told RBC on January 28. The company did not announce the reopening of the store after that.