Almost 12 months is the time that Inditex 's particular passage through the desert with its capital business in Russia has lasted . The commercial position of the multinational had been on standby since last March after the invasion of the country led by Vladimir Putin to Ukraine. Social pressure and the general veto of Russia prompted a similar movement in H&M, Nike, Adidas, Mango and Burberry, among others. Half a thousand stores, a workforce of more than 10,000 employees and annual sales estimated at more than 1.6 billion euros required a roadmap with relative speed, but also with surgical precision. In mid-October the first step took place. Inditex informed the CNMV of its decision to divest from its Russian business and already had a buyer: the Lebanese group Daher. Daher also owns Azadea. And despite the more than 5,000 kilometers that separate Galicia from Lebanon, they are anything but unknown to the people of A Coruña.
The company in question is in charge of exploiting Inditex franchises in Middle Eastern countries, where the suspicions that exist about foreign capital force this formula. The months passed and there was no official movement in what was supposed to be the great Inditex operation. Everything changed on April 5 , when the Russian Government approved the purchase Norway WhatsApp number and the Daher group thus began its journey in Russia, operating up to 4 brands in the commercial space left by the Galician giant. Maag Store I.Z. Among these brands, Maag stands out , called to lead the gap left by Zara, and whose operations will begin rolling out next June, according to local information. But while Inditex was finalizing its departure and the Lebanese group was fertilizing the land, another brand, Limé , has been rearming itself with a clear mission: to take over the commercial space at that time without an owner.
The gap left by Inditex in Russia Zara store in St. Petersburg Zara store in St. PetersburgGoogle Maps In its agreement with Daher, Inditex left an open door : it proposed a possible return in the future in the event that circumstances arose with "the possibility of collaboration between the two through a franchise contract." Unlike China, the United States or even Spain, branded as "red oceans" within the Galician group due to their complexity, Russia was one of those with the most commercial relevance. There were 3 key factors: geographical breadth, large population and limited international presence. At the head of this market was Lucian Dorobantu , who had already assumed direction of other European markets within the textile group. In Russia he led a team of more than 10,000 people – before the outbreak of the conflict he was at the highest level in terms of workforce.