L’Occitane to close all stores in Russia
Skincare retailer L’Occitane is all to close all stores and ecommerce websites in Russia in order to protect its employees worldwide from what it described as potential public aggression.
The news marks a U-turn for the company which had said a few days ago that it could not guarantee that its 700 employees in Russia would not face retaliation if its ceased to operate in the country. However, the company has been scaling back operations in Russia over the last few weeks and has suspended investment and expansion plans after saying it strongly condemned the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a new statement, L’Occitane said: “Given the enormous human suffering being caused by escalating military action in Ukraine and to protect our employees worldwide from potential public aggression, we have decided to close our own stores and ecommerce websites in Russia. This decision has been discussed at length and approved by the company board of directors.
“Our priority remains taking care of our employees. Concerning Ukraine, we are firmly committed to our distribution partner and its employees. We maintain regular communication with them and are providing support so that those affected can get to safety.
“Furthermore, we will pay the salaries of our distribution partner’s employees in Ukraine. At the same time, we aim to support and protect our Russian employees and we will also continue to pay their salaries.
“We will continue to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our employees around the world, in line with our company’s commitment to people.”
In a letter to staff, L’Occitane said the closure will be a temporary suspension of business activities that will be maintained until the company has a “better understanding of the overall situation”.
L’Occitane has more than 3,000 retail outlets, including more than 1,500 owned stores, and has a presence in 90 countries.
