Hugo Boss agrees to sell Russian business to wholesale partner Stockmann, 24 April 2024

Hugo Boss has agreed to sell its Russian business to wholesale partner Stockmann...a deal that will end its presence in Russia a little over two years after suspending operations there.

Hugo Boss, along with many store groups, suspended its retail business in Russia soon after Moscow despatched its army to Ukraine in February 2022. It also paused its e-commerce activities in the Russian market and stopped advertising.

Russia's government commission on foreign asset sales has approved the deal, Interfax reported, citing Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Yevtukhov, with one of the conditions being that all jobs are preserved...

"As a result of the agreement, Hugo Boss will no longer be present in Russia with its own legal entity," Hugo Boss said in a statement.

The sale, which Hugo Boss said was still subject to approval by a national European authority, is expected to close in the third quarter of this year, Interfax reported.

Hugo Boss had come under pressure for continuing to supply some goods to Russia from organisations like B4Ukraine, a coalition of civil society groups, which seeks to compel Western companies to sever ties with Russia...