2023-04-21 20:49:34
HFrom harsh criticism to numerous boycott threats from restaurateurs, the French spirits manufacturer Pernod Ricard has suspended the export of vodka from its popular Swedish brand Absolut to Russia, which resumed at the end of last year. The liberal Swedish MEP Karin Karlsbro spoke of a “mockery of Ukraine” and a “nice gift for Putin”. Media such as Twitter and Facebook have been hailed with much wilder insults in the past few days.
Even Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was “very surprised” by the resumed export and called it a “very strange action”. The protest went so far that an exhibition planned for this summer in the regional museum in Kristianstad was canceled in the dispute over exports to Russia. “It’s sad that we have to cancel so close to the event, but we don’t want to be associated with violating sanctions,” museum director Henrik Borg said on Swedish radio. At the “Fashion Cocktail” exhibition, the garments and images from the Absolut fashion collection should have been shown.
The French Pernod Ricard group, which took over the manufacturer of the Absolut vodka distilled in Åhus in southern Sweden for 5.6 billion euros in 2008 and has a total of 240 beverage brands such as Jameson, Ramazzotti and Ballantine’s, Malibu, Mumm and Lillet in its portfolio, regrets the excitement and the “very strong emotions” in Sweden.
The aim is to protect and keep the workforce of around 300 employees in the Russian sales subsidiary safe and to prevent intentional insolvency in the country as well as the emergence of a parallel market. After all, trade in Western products is flourishing in Russia, even from those manufacturers who have declared their withdrawal from Russia. Pernod Ricard speaks of “brand control”.
Forgivable retreat
The Russian market is not all that important for the group with its around 19,000 employees and annual sales of almost 11 billion euros. In the past, around 3 percent of sales were generated there, while it was almost 20 percent in the USA alone, a spokesman explained – and emphasized that advertising investments in Russia will remain suspended regardless of exports being resumed.
In addition, all sanctions imposed in the European Union, which do not prohibit the sale of spirits in Russia, are strictly adhered to. The spirits export was paused at the beginning of the Ukraine war. This, however, emptied the Russian camps.
Pernod Ricard should also get over the export ban because it only affects Absolut, which, according to the company spokesman, has “a very small volume compared to the rest of our portfolio there” in Russia, although no exact figures are communicated. The shares of the French spirits manufacturer have hardly reacted to the dispute in the past few days. Pernod Ricard is valued at around 55 billion euros on the stock exchange.
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