More European Retailers Stop Buying Russian Products In Response To Ukraine Invasion

Retailers including S Group, Kesko and Maxima Group have announced they are halting purchases of Russian products, in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement on its website, Finland’s S Group said that it was removing approximately 50 Russian SKUs from sale, including food products, sports equipment, textiles and other consumer goods.

“What is happening in Ukraine at the moment is shocking and completely reprehensible,” commented Sampo Päällysaho, grocery trade director at S Group.

S Group’s Prisma chain, which operates in Estonia, ceased the purchase of Russian items last Friday.

‘Appalling Situation’

Fellow Finnish retailer Kesko said that it has ‘decided to stop purchasing Russian products and exporting food to Russia’, in response to what it described as an ‘appalling situation’ in Ukraine.

Kesko withdrew its operations from Russia between 2016 and 2018, adding that since that period, its purchases from the country have been ‘very small’.

Maxima Latvija

Elsewhere, Maxima Latvija has suspended the purchase of products manufactured in Russia and Belarus, removing these products from its in-store range, in keeping with the common position held by other firms in the Maxima Groupe.

The group said that it did not expect the announcement to affect its assortment that much, noting that “the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has enabled us to make sure that, if necessary, Latvian manufacturers are able to provide a full range of goods and replace the range of imported goods.”

It said that it will “continue to follow closely” developments with regard to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Denmark’s Salling Group, which operates the Netto, Bilka and føtex banners, has also made the decision to remove all Russian-produced goods from its shelves.

This includes approximately 20 SKUs, ranging “from vodka to toothpaste to chocolate”, chief executive Per Bank said on Twitter.

Read More: EuroCommerce: Retail And Wholesale Industry Will ‘Do All It Can’ To Assist Ukraine

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