The Spanish clothing giant suspended operations in the country after invading Ukraine more than seven months ago.
Spanish clothing giant Inditex, owner of the world’s leading clothing brand Zara, announced on Tuesday that it is preparing to sell its stores in Russia, more than seven months after suspending operations in the country since the invasion of Ukraine. “Inditex has reached a first agreement for the sale of its business in the Russian Federation to the Daher Group, which has significant stakes in the distribution and real estate sectors“said the Spanish group in a press release.
Such a “transaction will result in the cessation of operations of Inditex in Russia after the suspension of its commercial activity on March 5“explains the company, adding that”the provisions recognized in the financial results for the first half of 2022 largely cover the impactof this cessation of activity. Inditex also points out that a “substantial part” of the group’s employees should keep their jobs, even if the future “points of salewhich will replace the Inditex stores will be completely different from the group’s brands (Zara, Zara Home, Bershka, Oysho, Stradivarius, Pull&Bear, Massimo Duti).
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Whether “new circumstanceswere to occur and that they paved the way for the return of the Spanish group’s brands to the Russian market, Inditex and the Daher group are studying the possibility “to include in their agreement the possibility of collaboration through a franchise agreement“, According to the press release.
On March 5, Inditex announced that “given the current circumstances“, the group could not “guarantee the continuity of operations and commercial conditionsin Russia, a country that accounted for around 8.5% of its operating income. Inditex (acronym for Industria de diseño textil) had 502 stores in Russia, 86 of which were Zara.