Metzingen, August 5 (FinanceFlashNews) – German fashion brand Hugo Boss announced on Monday that it has sold its Russian business to its long-time wholesale partner, Stockmann. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Hugo Boss joins a growing list of Western companies that have exited the Russian market in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The company had paused its retail operations in Russia shortly after the invasion in February 2022 and also halted its e-commerce activities and advertising in the country.
“We can confirm that our Russian subsidiary has been sold to Stockmann JSC, a company belonging to one of Hugo Boss’s long-standing wholesale partners in the country,” a spokesperson for the fashion house said.
While neither party has disclosed the financial terms of the deal, Russia has been demanding that foreign companies sell their assets at a discount of at least 50%. Russian corporate filings indicate that the deal was finalized on August 2, with Stockmann JSC now owning a 100% stake in Hugo Boss Russia, which has a nominal value of 40 million rubles ($470,588; €434,322).
Hugo Boss had come under pressure from organizations such as B4Ukraine for continuing to supply certain goods to Russia. B4Ukraine is a coalition of civil society groups that has been urging Western companies to sever ties with Russia.
“Regarding our wholesale business, we have fulfilled our contractual obligations to our partners,” Hugo Boss said in April, adding that the company complies with existing European Union sanctions against Moscow.
Stockmann in Russia operates independently from its former Finnish owner, which sold its Russian business after the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The departure of Hugo Boss from the Russian market marks another significant blow to the country’s consumer goods sector. Many Western brands have either fully withdrawn from Russia or suspended their operations in the country since the invasion of Ukraine.
