Swedish H&M temporarily suspends sales in Russia | The Mighty 790 KFGO
By Helena Söderpalm
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – The Swedish fashion group H&M is temporarily pausing all sales in Russia, it was said on Wednesday, and joining a growing list of companies that have been avoiding the country since it invaded Ukraine.
The world’s second largest fashion retailer said they were deeply concerned about the tragic development in Ukraine and “stand with all the people who are suffering”.
Russia was H & M’s sixth largest market with 4% of group sales during the fourth quarter of 2021. While it has reduced the number of physical stores in many markets, it has increased the number of stores in Russia to currently 170.
“H&M Group has decided to temporarily suspend all sales in Russia,” the company, whose biggest rival is Inditex, said in a statement.
H&M had approximately 4,800 physical stores worldwide on November 30, of which 548 in the United States, 445 in China and 441 in Germany. The goal is to double sales by 2030 compared to sales in 2021 of SEK 199 billion (USD 20.6 billion).
Some of the biggest Western brands have suspended their operations in Russia in an unprecedented wave of corporate action against Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.
H&M said that their stores in Ukraine had already been closed temporarily due to the safety of customers and colleagues. “The situation is continuously monitored and evaluated,” it added.
($ 1 = 9.6635 Swedish kronor)
(Reportage by Helena Soderpalm and Anna Ringström; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)