Ikea, Apple and Zara are joined by another retail giant in the suspension of sales in Russia: H&M.
That’s right, the second largest company in the fast fashion industry, the Swedish Hennes and Mauritz (H&M), announced that it has temporarily suspended the sale of products in Russia due to the war that country is having with Ukraine.
“The H&M group is very concerned about the tragedy of what is happening in Ukraine and empathizes with those affected. For this reason, it has been decided to temporarily suspend sales in Russia,” the Swedish company said in a statement.
In Sweden, all international companies are under strong pressure to cancel their operations in Vladimir Putin’s country.
The largest fast fashion company by sales volume, Inditex (owner of the Zara brand), had already announced similar plans at the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, “for security reasons”.
H&M says in the March 3 statement that it is analyzing the situation “continuously” and that they have “close dialogue” with the “important actors” in the conflict, although it did not specify which actors it refers to.
H&M’s business in Russia
Russia is a relevant market for H&M, as it is the sixth largest with almost 170 points of sale throughout the country.
H&M invoiced in Russia in the quarter between September and November 2021 just over 2,000 million Swedish crowns, about 218 million dollars, according to data from the latest financial report.
According to H&M, the company will not sell in Russia again until the war is over.
Nanuskha leaves Russia
On the other hand, the Hungarian company Nanuskha, one of the brands that has grown the most in recent years and was one of the most acclaimed at Paris Fashion Week, also said that it is leaving its sales in Russia as a way to support Ukraine.
“Like many in the industry I have been thinking about the best way to act,” Nanushka CEO Peter Baldaszti explained in an interview with Vogue.
Baldaszti added that he will not negotiate new commercial agreements with Russian wholesalers and will not fulfill orders from that country to his brand.
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