Ikea suspends operations in Russia (Credit: Getty Images)
A week after the start of the war, decided by Vladimir Putin, Ikea will close its stores in Russia on Friday, March 4.
Big business is gradually turning its back on Russia. A week after Russia invaded Ukraine, international sanctions are falling on the Kremlin. This Thursday, March 3, Ikea announced the closure of its operations in Russia and Belarus, affecting nearly 15,000 employees, 17 stores and three production sites.
“The war has a huge human impact and also leads to a serious disruption of the production and retail chain, which is why the companies in the group decided to temporarily suspend Ikea in Russia,” said the Swedish furniture giant in a press release. The brand’s stores will close in Russia from Friday, March 4, indefinitely.
As a result, crowded scenes were observed in an Ikea store in the Russian capital, as Sylvain Tronsche, a Moscow correspondent for Radio France, noted. In these images posted on Twitter, we can see endless queues of customers who want to make their last purchases before closing to another order.
Nevertheless, Ikea will continue to provide “job security and income” to its 15,000 employees. According to the world leader in the sector, this decision will have consequences for 47 suppliers of the brand in Russia. For its part, Belarus is much less affected by this sanction, because Russia’s ally has no Ikea stores on its land and hosts only a few suppliers.
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