LVMH, Kering and More are Closing their Retail Locations in Russia

Luxury’s Leading Brands Are Closing Their Boutiques in Russia

LVMH, Kering and More are Closing their Russian Retail Locations — LVMH closing stores in Russia.

Since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, global brands like UPS, Nike, and FedEx are leaving Russia. Now, leading luxury conglomerates like LVMH have also announced that they will be closing their locations in Russia.

The first fashion house to announce its plan was Hermès that used its LinkedIn page on Friday to announce that it will close three stores in Moscow. Then Chanel, which has 17 stores in Russia, also announced that it would pause business in Russia, and it has suspended e-commerce.

Then, in the afternoon, three top conglomerates, LVMH, Kering, and Richemont, joined closures and shuttered Russian boutiques of over 100 luxury-focused brands like Brioni, Balenciaga, and Gucci of Kering, Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, and Christian Dior of LVMH and Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, and Jaeger-LeCoultre from Richemont.

Swatch Group, the owner of brands like Omega, Harry Winston, Breguet, and Blancpain, have confirmed that they will put exports to Russia on hold. The pausing of operations by big fashion companies like LVMH is not good for Russia. LVMH holds the largest retail stake in Russia when it comes to luxury labels. They have 124 stores and 3.500 employees in Russia. An LVMH spokesperson confirmed that the closure wouldn’t affect the employees, and they will continue to receive their salary and benefits.

In addition to closing boutiques in Russia, many top brands are also donating to relief efforts in Ukraine. LVMH has shared that it will contribute €5 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross to help with relief and refugee efforts. Even Louis Vuitton followed up with a donation of €1 million to UNICEF and encouraged the clients to donate as well,

Michael Kors, a brand which is highly active in a New York-based organization, God’s Love We Deliver, dedicated to offering home-delivered meals to anyone who is food insecure, has announced that Capri Holdings, the owner of this popular brand, and Jimmy Choo and Versace will donate to the UN World Food Programme. It’s highly unlikely this move by LVMH and others would change Putin’s mind about war. But it does provide hope for people who want the war to stop.

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