Only 245 Inditex stores will re-open following the deal, but
the new brands will be completely different from Inditex's
brands, the company said in its annual report. As part of the
agreement, Inditex did not rule out returning to the country if
circumstances change.
(Reporting by Corina Pons and Helen Reid
Editing by Mark Potter)
By Corina Pons and Helen Reid
BARCELONA, April 25 (Reuters) - Spanish fashion group
Tendam will reopen its stores in Russia through a Belarusian
company, its CEO told Reuters on Tuesday, following the model of
Mango which transferred its stores to Russian franchisees last
year.
Spain's third-largest fashion retailer has kept its 19
stores in Russia closed since March last year, alongside many
Western companies that suspended operations in response to
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and ensuing sanctions imposed by
the European Union and United States on Moscow.
Tendam agreed in March with Belarusian company ALC
Belvirineja to hand over its business in Russia under a
franchise agreement, Tendam CEO Jaume Miquel told Reuters in an
interview on the sidelines of the World Retail Congress in
Barcelona.
Miquel said he did not know whether the company would return
to Russia in the future or continue to operate there through
franchises.
The company had about 400 employees in Russia and the
country accounted for 2% of its sales before the war. Overall,
Tendam has 1,805 stores - 1,200 of which it operates itself - in
Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
Last year Mango started to transfer the 55 shops it was
directly operating in Russia to local partners. While 30 shops
remain permanently closed, Mango said in March it was present in
90 stores in Russia under franchise agreements.
Zara owner Inditex opted to exit Russia completely,
agreeing to sell its business there to the UAE-based Daher Group
in October, after closing 500 stores in March 2022.
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