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| Mango store. |
The fashion firm Mango has decided to definitively abandon direct sales in Russia, after 23 years of operating in the country, and is handing over its stores to its franchisees "due to the uncertainty regarding the evolution of the geopolitical situation" due to the invasion of Ukraine.
As El País has advanced and the company confirmed in a statement, that in order to "guarantee coverage" for the 800 employees it has in Russia, Mango will cease to operate directly in the country and has reached an agreement with several of its franchise partners to transfer their business to them.
Last March, as a result of the war in Ukraine, Mango decided to temporarily suspend its operations in Russia, leaving its 55 own stores in the country without activity -another 65 are franchised-, and the online sales.
According to the company, from the outset, its "priority" has been "to ensure the safety of its teams in Ukraine and Russia and its distribution ecosystem, of which local franchises and partners are an essential part."
In the coming months, the process will be carried out so that Mango, which is present in 110 markets around the world, transfers its own stores to different franchise partners.
According to the fashion firm, which has made a provision of 20 million due to the impact derived from the situation in Russia, next week the first two points of sale will be transferred, to which another 22 are expected to be added between this month and next.
At the end of 2021, Russia represented 8% of Mango's EBIT -earnings before interest and taxes- and was among the company's five largest markets.
After analyzing the security protocols, Mango, which temporarily closed its 14 stores in Ukraine last February, is gradually reopening its points of sale in this country, in areas far from the armed conflict, and responding to the requests of both its franchisees as well as from their direct local teams.
Specifically, nine stores have been reopened - four of them owned and five franchised - and in the coming weeks' their activity will resume at other points of sale.
Since the beginning of the war, the company highlights, Mango has provided coverage for its teams in both Ukraine and Russia, maintaining the payment of their salaries and providing them with all the legal coverage they have required.
In addition, the company offered legal advice and a new job in another country to employees and partners who decided to leave Ukraine after the invasion.