The toymaker will cease operations in the country, local management confirms
The manufacturer of Lego toys is ceasing commercial activities in Russia amid supply uncertainty, Inc. magazine reported on Tuesday.
“Given the ongoing significant disruption to the operating environment, we have made the decision to cease our business operations in Russia indefinitely. This includes the termination of most of our Moscow team and our partnership with Inventive Retail Group,” the general director of Lego’s Russian division, Evgeny Chikhachev, told the outlet.
According to Chikhachev, the company has already laid off 70 of its employees in Russia, providing them with severance pay.
On Monday, the company’s products were included in the list of goods eligible for parallel imports, which refers to products that can be brought into Russia without the trademark holder’s permission.
Inventive Retail Group, which manages the brand’s retail in Russia, announced last week that several certified Lego stores had suspended operations in the country due to a lack of deliveries.
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In early March, Danish news media, citing a Lego spokesperson, reported that the toymaker had stopped all deliveries of its products to Russian stores “in light of [Ukraine-related anti-Russia] sanctions and the unpredictable situation.”
Russia is one of Lego’s largest sales markets, with 81 stores across the country.