Lush to stay open in Russia due to legal obligation, but will cut supplies

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 11, 2022

In an unusual move, ethical beauty products specialist Lush has said that its stores in Russia will continue to trade as it highlighted that the staff there share its eco and peace-loving values.

It also emphasised that it's not able to close the 48 shops the brand has in the country due to the terms of the long-standing contract with the Russian licensee that runs them.

It said: “Our Russian and Ukrainian businesses are associate companies, both 65% owned by a Russian citizen who had built the business over 20 years... employing over 600 staff who share the Lush values of environmental protection, animal rights, social justice and peace.” It didn't identify the Russian who controls that part of the business for privacy reasons.

That said, Lush has suspended supplies to the Russian stores so it's unclear how long they'll be able to trade. The company has also stopped online sales in the country. 

It added that it's working to acquire the shares in its Ukraine business not already owned by the company.

A host of businesses from around the world have stopped their Russian operations and even those that originally said they would continue in Russia have been forced into U-turns. Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo is the highest profile company to do that.

Despite the legal situation that’s preventing Lush from directly closing its Russian Ops, it's likely to come in for criticism as the tidal wave of companies exiting the country continues.