Electronic goods manufacturers LG, Sony and Bosch have started closing their single-brand stores in Russia, the news daily Kommersant reported on Tuesday, citing representatives of the brands.
All three brands previously announced their intentions to either quit the Russian market or halt deliveries of goods amid Western sanctions placed on the country in connection with the Ukraine conflict. The brands’ stores in Russia had continued to operate until recently.
Technical support for LG confirmed to Kommersant plans to close all of its Russian stores, a move it attributed to “a halt in supply deliveries.” The support operator for Sony also cited the lack of supplies as the reason for the outlets’ closures, but said that three of the company’s single-brand stores in Moscow would remain open until the summer to sell off remaining goods. A Bosch representative said that the company has shut down all stores but one, which it also plans to keep open until it sells off its stock.
A source from a large retailer told Kommersant that despite the divestment plans, the companies could not have closed their stores in Russia earlier due to long-term lease agreements with shopping malls.
“The tenant must give six months’ notice of termination of a lease, so it was easier for the retail partners of the departing vendors to finish out the contract, despite the fact that official deliveries have long since stopped. Also, in such cases companies often face fines,” the source explained.
South Korea’s LG Electronics announced a suspension of all deliveries to Russia and halted operations at its plant in Ruza, near Moscow, in March 2022, shortly after the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. At the same time, Japan’s Sony halted deliveries of software and hardware to Russia, as well as sales of its PlayStation consoles. Shortly thereafter, Germany’s Bosch stopped production at all seven of its Russian factories and is currently in the process of selling them, the report noted.
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