Initially pushed by the Ukrainian president himself, the French company specializing in sporting goods Decathlon announced on Tuesday the suspension of its activities in Russia. However, this is not a political decision but rather a logistical necessity.
“Scrupulously respecting international sanctions, Decathlon notes that the supply conditions are no longer met to continue its activity in Russia. Decathlon is forced to suspend the operation of its stores, ”wrote the sign of the Mulliez galaxy in its press release.
Decathlon is one of the three brands of the Mulliez family association to be active in Russia, along with Auchan and Leroy-Merlin, which continue their activity there. The three brands have been the target of criticism in recent days because of their stated desire to stay in Russia.
92% of its supply affected
On March 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky notably asked “Renault, Auchan, Leroy Merlin and others” before the French Parliament to “stop sponsoring Russia’s war machine” in Ukraine. Decathlon has been present in Russia since 2006 with 60 stores and an e-commerce site in 25 Russian cities. The brand is notably present in the Moscow region, where 22 of its stores are located. “We will continue to support our 2,500 Russian teammates,” she said in her statement.
The suspension of activities was announced at the end of the morning via an email to employees, in which the company specifies that it is “unable to maintain 92% of (its) supply” in Russia due to “international sanctions”.
Also present in Ukraine, Decathlon announced at the end of February that it had “frozen” its activity on site, “in the logic of not exposing” its 125 or so employees on site “to a situation which does not fully guarantee their safety”. It operates four stores there as well as an online sales site.
The brand underlines in its press release that a “solidarity cell” based in Poland has centralized its donations to local NGOs, for a total amount of 2.6 million euros. It also announces that it has “established a solidarity fund” endowed with one million euros in order to “support the affected populations”.