UNIQLO continues firmly in Russia despite slew of brand exits

UNIQLO, a brand owned by Fast Retailing, has decided to continue selling clothes in Russia. According to multiple sources such as Nikkei Asia, Channel NewsAsia and Bloomberg, Fast Retailing's CEO Tadashi Yanai defended the brand's stance, saying that the Russians still need access to daily necessities such as clothing.

UNIQLO currently has no plans to suspend its operations and will continue to operate all 50 stores in Russia, while monitoring the situation, Nikkei Asia reported. UNIQLO's move comes in spite of international pressure to isolate Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which led to numerous companies pulling out of the market. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to UNIQLO for comment.

In addition to being against the war, Yanai questioned the trend of pressuring companies to make political choices. According to Bloomberg, he declined to comment on issues around sourcing cotton from China's Xinjiang region in April last year, a month before it was revealed the US had earlier blocked a shipment of UNIQLO shirts on concerns about forced labour. The company also faces a French probe alongside a number of fashion brands.

Separately, Fast Retailing donated US$100 million to UN High Commissioner for Refugees last week to support humanitarian aid for people forced to flee Ukraine and neighbouring countries. The donation amount will be used to provide such urgent assistance as shelter, psychosocial support and core relief items. Additionally, it donated 100,000 pieces of UNIQLO clothing and other items, including HEATTECH blankets, HEATTECH innerwear, and AIRism masks, as well as 100,000 items of winter clothing collected at UNIQLO stores in Japan through the company's clothing recycling programme, which will be distributed to refugees in Poland and other countries.

While UNIQLO has defended its decision to remain in Russia, other retail and luxury brands including Levi's, Inditex, Hermès, Chanel, Cartier, LVMH, and Kering have temporarily suspended operations in Russia. LMVH's Louis Vuitton has pledged to donate US$1.08 million to refugees, adding that it was "deeply touched by the tragic situation unfolding in Ukraine". However, the brand faced a series of negative comments, with netizens telling the brand to close its stores in Russia if it truly cared about the situation and to stop selling in Russia.

Chanel also cited "increasing concerns" regarding the current situation as well as the "growing uncertainty and the complexity to operate", the Financial Times reported. Meanwhile, Levi said about 4% of its total net revenues in 2021 were derived from Eastern Europe, half of which was related to Russia, Reuters reported. The company also halted new investments in the country.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

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