Leroy Merlin leaves Russia, but stores will continue to operate - media

The owner of the Leroy Merlin construction chain, the French ADEO group, plans to sell all its stores in Russia. It is expected that the Russian company will be transferred to local management.

"According to a company representative, the change of ownership will not affect the business. It will not change its relations with partners and customers and will keep all jobs," Russian media reported.

Currently, Leroy Merlin's hypermarket chain in Russia comprises 111 stores in 65 cities. The retailer is one of the country's 10 largest retailers.

They may simply change the name

A statement by a Leroy Merlin spokesperson quoted by the Russian media that "the change of ownership will not affect the business" may indicate that the company may want to continue operating in the Russian market, but under a different name. In this way, they may want to stop the flow of criticism against Leroy Merlin for continuing to operate in Russia despite the war it has waged against Ukraine.

In addition, in the autumn of 2022, Leroy Merlin employees in Ukraine anonymously told the media that only those who did not publicly advocate the closure of stores in Russia were invited to work in the stores. "The "rebellion" took place in the first weeks after the start of the full-scale war, when several departments united and publicly demanded the closure of Leroy Merlin stores in the aggressor country. Their request was ignored.

Foreign business is leaving Russia

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many international companies left the Russian market, either by selling their businesses or transferring them to local managers. Among the most famous companies and brands:

• McDonald's (fast food restaurants);
• Pizza Hut (pizzerias);
• LPP (clothing brands Reserved, Cropp, Mohito, etc.);
• Nissan, Renault (cars), etc.

As OBOZREVATEL reported earlier, Alibaba Group, the main shareholder of Aliexpress Russia, one of the largest marketplaces in Russia, refused to invest in the project development. Moreover, other shareholders of the company followed suit. After that, Aliexpress Russia carried out a massive staff reduction, laying off hundreds of employees.

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