The French distributor Auchan, which continued its activity in Russia after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, unlike many other groups, “seems to be contributing to the Russian war effort”, writes Le Monde on Friday, its management saying to itself ” very surprised” by these allegations.
“We are very surprised,” reacted to AFP the management of the group, owned by the Mulliez Family Association (AFM) based in the north of France. “We are in the process of verifying the asserted elements, but, to date, the elements in our possession do not corroborate” the investigation of the World, she continues.
According to documents obtained by the leading French daily, the investigative site The Insider and the NGO Bellingcat, Auchan delivered free goods to Vladimir Putin’s army.
An email sent “to about twenty employees in several stores in Saint Petersburg”
The investigation mentions in particular a load worth 2 million rubles (about 25,000 euros) which would have been offered by Auchan. According to Le Monde, a management controller, Natalya Z., had drawn up a list of equipment on March 15, 2022 in an email sent “to around twenty employees in several stores in Saint Petersburg, in western Russia, for the purpose of collecting humanitarian aid donations.
It included “thousands of cigarettes, size 43 or 44 wool socks, gas stove cartridges, canned pork stew, axes and nails, all from the brand’s stock”, continues the daily.
The group’s management notes that “the only elements provided date from March 2022”, i.e. a few weeks after the outbreak of the conflict, and that in this case “the interlocutors who placed an order were usual interlocutors, who had already placed an order with us beforehand “. “We do not finance and participate voluntarily and actively in any collection intended for the Russian forces”, continues the management.
For its part, the Ukrainian branch of the distributor declared itself “shocked” by this information and affirmed on Facebook that it had asked for explanations from the French headquarters of the group. Auchan Ukraine stresses that “the information has been denied to them”, but they are now awaiting “an official communication” to this effect.
Leroy Merlin, another brand of the Mulliez group present in Russia
The fifth-largest food retailer in France in terms of market share (behind E.Leclerc, Carrefour, Intermarché and Système U) had a long-standing presence in Ukraine and Russia, where before the war it achieved one-tenth of its total sales. Another sign from the Mulliez galaxy, Leroy Merlin, is also very present there, to the point of dominating the DIY market in Russia.
When publishing its results for the first half of 2022, in August, Auchan indicated that it had recorded a “marked slowdown” in its commercial activity in Russia, ensuring that this activity is carried out there “in maximum autonomy and in strict compliance with the European embargo.