The French luxury giants LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Hermès each said Friday that they would temporarily close their stores in Russia as the crisis in Ukraine continued to escalate.
LVMH, which is estimated to have more than 120 stores in Russia, said that it would close them effective Sunday “given the current circumstances in the region,” according to a spokesperson. The spokesperson added that the company would continue to pay salary and benefits to its 3,500 employees in the country. Hermès said in a LinkedIn post that it would temporarily close its stores and pause commercial activity in Russia as of Friday evening.
“Deeply concerned by the situation in Europe at this time, it’s with regret that we have taken the decision to temporarily close our stores in Russia and pause all our commercial activities,” Hermès said in the post.
Western retailers like Ikea, H&M Group and Nike have made announcements about halting sales and temporarily closing stores in Russia in recent days and expressed their support for the people of Ukraine. Most have said that they will continue to pay their Russian employees. In addition to the escalating violence in Ukraine, retailers are responding to the broader trade disruption in Russia and the sanctions aimed at financial transactions in the country.
Ikea, which is based in Stockholm, said this week that it would pause exports and imports to and from Russia and Belarus, halt retail operations and pause operations of its unit that produces wooden furniture. The company told The New York Times in an email on Friday, “Due to current international sanctions, and the intentions thereof, we are not making transactions, including payments in and out of Russia or Belarus.”
“The sanctions regime affecting Russia is quickly evolving as countries coordinate on and deploy an array of targeted financial and trade sanctions,” Steve Lamar, president and chief executive of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, said in a statement. “Among those affecting retail, and their workers, are restrictions on financial institutions and financial flows, such as wage payments.”