2024-05-31 11:17:19
Ritter Sport remains to be accessible in Russia. CEO Andreas Ronken thinks that is proper. He does not need to do enterprise solely with international locations that “behave a hundred percent in accordance with our morals.”
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine greater than two years in the past, quite a few German and worldwide corporations took motion inside a couple of weeks: they withdrew from enterprise in Russia. For a lot of corporations, this was related to excessive prices.
Not everybody was ready to pay such a worth. This was additionally the case with the chocolate producer Ritter Sport, which continues to function in Russia to this present day. CEO Andreas Ronken defends this choice – despite the fact that he says he even acquired dying threats for it. “Our choice was the appropriate one, and I might make the identical choice once more,” he advised “Focus”.
“This case reveals the dilemma between angle and duty. Russia is our second largest market. If we had left there, we’d have needed to lay off 200 individuals on the Waldenbuch website,” Ronken continued. The struggle “is not going to be gained by means of meals restrictions.”
As a substitute of withdrawing from the market, the corporate determined to donate the earnings from its Russian enterprise to help for Ukraine. In 2023, that was virtually a million euros. As a medium-sized firm, Ronken doesn’t need to “keep apolitical in every thing,” however on the identical time he can’t “solely provide international locations that behave a hundred percent in accordance with our morals.”
However Ritter Sport’s habits is just not an remoted case. A analysis group from the US College of Yale has been amassing knowledge on Western corporations in Russia because the starting of the struggle, also called the “Record of Disgrace.” Based on the information, solely a couple of third of German corporations have utterly withdrawn from Russia. These embody Tchibo, Henkel, but additionally Obi and Deichmann.
Different corporations are nonetheless lively to various levels. Different analyses typically provide you with decrease figures. Based on the Chamber of Overseas Commerce, 6,000 German corporations had been lively in Russia earlier than the struggle. Along with Ritter Sport, there are additionally well-known manufacturers similar to Metro, Globus and the Hochland cheese dairy.