The four French luxury giants have indicated that they “continue to support” their teams on site.
The French luxury giants LVMH, Kering, Hermès and Chanel announced on Friday March 4 the closure “temporaryfrom their stores in Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Read alsoWhy French companies stay in Russia
“Given the current circumstances in the region, LVMH regrets to announce the temporary closure of its stores in Russia as of March 6”, an LVMH spokesperson told AFP. The group has 124 own stores in the country. “In addition to supporting the action of the International Committee of the Red Cross” in the form of a donation of five million euros, “the group stands alongside its 3,500 employees in Russia and their families”he said. “As for the group’s employees in Ukraine, their salary will be maintained and they will benefit from specific support during this period, in particular through the financial and psychological support program LVMH Heart Fund”said the spokesperson for the group of Bernard Arnault.
Earlier today, Chanel announced that “given our growing concerns about the current situation, the growing uncertainty and the complexity to operate”he had “decided to temporarily suspend its activities in Russia”, in a statement sent to AFP. Chanel has 17 of its own boutiques in Russia, as well ascorners(points of sale) in department stores, and reports 371 employees. “We will no longer deliver to Russia, we will close our stores and we have already suspended our e-commerce. The safety of our employees is our priority and we remain closely linked to our local teams which we will continue to support.”explained Chanel.
Hermes”very concerned about the situation in Europe»
Also on Friday, Hermès, “very concerned about the current situation in Europe”, announced on its LinkedIn page its decision to “temporarily close” its three stores in Russia – including one in the famous Goum shopping mall – and “pause” all its commercial activities from Friday evening. “We will continue to support our teams on site”, said the group, which employs around sixty people in the country. While when publishing its results on February 18, Hermès indicated that it planned to open a store in Saint Petersburg in 2022, it is now “postponed sine die”, he told AFP. For its part, the Kering group, with a more modest presence, announced that it would close its two stores and four “corners», employing about 180 people, in Russia.
Also approached by AFP, the French cosmetics giant L’Oréal declined to comment. Other major international groups have announced the suspension of their activity in the country, in particular the Swedish furniture giant Ikea, which explained to AFP on Thursday that “the war had an enormous human impact and also resulted in serious disruptions to the chain of production and trade”.