Sheer bad luck: the range of laptops of brands that left the Russian Federation began to decline

The range of laptops of bygone brands began to shrink in the Russian market, its participants told Izvestia. In particular, we are talking about Dell, HP and Apple: the number of laptop modifications presented in the country has already decreased by about 10%. Distributors attribute this to stricter gadget certification rules: starting in August, each importer must independently obtain conformity documents for imported equipment, whereas previously it was possible to use one document for all suppliers. As a result, it has become economically unprofitable to import laptops in small batches, experts explain.

Why is the range of laptops shrinking?

The import of laptops to Russia, as well as small electronics such as headphones and chargers, has become more difficult. This was told to Izvestia by the manager of one of the vendors and a source in the distributor company. According to them, in August 2026, the procedure for obtaining certificates of conformity for such devices changed. In particular, customs clearance is impossible without these documents. Now, each importer must independently obtain a document of conformity for each imported batch of laptops. Previously, a certificate could be issued by a manufacturer or a major distributor. After uploading the document to a single database, other market participants could import the same article, Izvestia's interlocutors explained.

The new order has led to the fact that it has become unprofitable to supply relatively small batches of laptops, one of them noted. It is in such volumes that devices from American manufacturers Dell, HP and Apple are imported to Russia, for example. It is economically impractical to spend time and money on certifying models with relatively low demand, unlike the more in-demand Chinese laptops. This is especially true for small importers. Both Izvestia interlocutors note that due to the new order, the range of laptops, in particular American brands, has already begun to decline, and some models have become scarce.

The RATEK Electronics Manufacturers and Sellers Association is aware of the current situation. Supplies of laptops have become difficult because manufacturers who left Russia are not involved in their certification, Anton Guskov, a representative of the association, confirmed.

Processor and result: Laptop sales decreased by 20% over the year%

How are component prices and the global AI boom affecting this?

— Laptops remain in temporary storage warehouses, which are few in number, and their services are expensive. This is reflected in the cost and delivery time of the devices. At the same time, new products arrive in Russia in smaller volumes and at higher prices," he told Izvestia.

He considers the conditional release of goods provided for by the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU Customs Code) as a way out of the situation. In this case, the products are stored in importers' warehouses under the obligation to carry out all necessary conformity assessment procedures, rather than waiting for their completion in a customs warehouse. According to Anton Guskov, this will reduce costs and accelerate the appearance of new products on the market.

Goods put into circulation on the territory of the EAEU must comply with safety requirements, the press service of the Federal Customs Service noted. Verification, a conformity assessment procedure, is carried out before the products are imported into the customs territory of the Union. These norms are established by the EAEU Treaty and are imperative, the ministry said. The EAEU legislation does not provide for the receipt of conformity assessment documents — certificates and declarations — after the products are imported into Russia, the FCS stressed.

— It should be noted that the FCS is not authorized to impose any bans on the import of products. In their activities, the customs authorities ensure compliance with the norms of EAEU law and Russian legislation. If appropriate decisions are made allowing for the possibility of conditional release of goods, the FCS will ensure their implementation," the agency said.

Izvestia also sent inquiries to Dell, HP and Apple.

Laptop prices have increased by 3-4% due to changes in certification rules, says Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group. According to him, the range of devices from the American brands Dell, HP and Apple in the Russian market has decreased by about 10%, and this trend will continue. Such devices are indeed imported into Russia in small batches via parallel import, while vendors do not provide support to importers. Independent certification of small batches, especially for small distributors, can make their sales in Russia unprofitable, the expert believes.

In which laptop categories will the selection decrease

The reduction of the product range is already underway, agrees Ilya Ilyinsky, NTI expert on technological development. According to ITResearch, laptop sales decreased by 35% year-on-year in August, and last year's models appeared in the distributors' assortment, he told Izvestia.

— This happens when there is no new delivery and the leftovers are sold. The average price exceeded 110 thousand rubles. But certification is not the only reason: since last fall, memory and storage devices have become more expensive in the world. There is unlikely to be a shortage of laptops, but there may be a shortage of individual configurations," the expert noted.

According to him, this primarily concerns Dell, HP and Apple, which are not officially represented in Russia. Since the end of May, HP laptops, along with Acer and Asus, have been excluded from the list of products allowed for parallel import. Ilya Ilyinsky believes that the biggest problems may arise in the segments of workstations, gaming and premium models in rare configurations, as well as computers for corporate use.

— The configuration, which is transported in small batches, becomes unprofitable to certify. With accessories, if they are included in the same list, the situation is similar. Only the product itself is cheaper, so the share of the cost of the certificate in its price is higher," the expert added.

The range can really become more compact, first of all it can affect gaming laptops and models for enthusiasts, where there are many modifications, and the supply volume of each of them is relatively small, says Alexander Loginov, director of the OCS Personal Systems department. According to him, mass office models with more unified characteristics are likely to suffer to a lesser extent.

— It is premature to talk about the shortage of laptops in general. Rather, we may be talking about a reduction in the choice of individual versions and some increase in the cost of some devices. For wholesale customers, the minimum batch volume may also increase, at which the supply remains economically justified," he noted.

Complete the processor: there is a shortage of budget laptops in Russia

What devices are we talking about and how is this related to the shortage of inexpensive processors on the global market?

Demand for HP and Dell is mainly in the corporate segment, as their models are more expensive than the average market, according to M.Video. These brands are less in demand for retail sales, the company said.

According to Dmitry Nechaev, head of the Computer Equipment category at the united Wildberries & Russ company, it is incorrect to link price dynamics solely with changes in certification rules. The cost of devices is affected by a number of factors, including component prices, exchange rates, logistics, and changes in market regulation, he noted.

DRAM, dynamic RAM, and SSD drives for long—term data storage have risen in price by more than 60% over the year, said Andrey Petrenko, director of Computer Technology at VVP Group.

— First of all, the changes may affect brands supplied to Russia via parallel imports, such as Dell and Lenovo. In this case, we are talking mainly about individual configurations. This may affect the upper price segment and specialized devices most sensitively, in particular, gaming laptops with RTX 5080/5090 graphics cards, as well as models with a large amount of RAM starting from 64 GB," he noted.

Such devices are in demand among professional developers, specialists in 3D graphics and CGI, Dmitry Nechaev explained.

— Additional factors will be the technological fee, which will be introduced on December 1, 2026, and the mandatory labeling of electronics. In the coming months, the market will adapt to new requirements: the renewal of certificates takes two to three months, so the range of individual models may be limited until the end of the year. Then the supply will partially recover, — predicts Andrey Petrenko.

The market will need time to adapt: importers will review the range, focus on the most in-demand models and consolidate shipments, Alexander Loginov noted. Therefore, it is rather a question of restructuring the supply structure in the market, he concluded.