Fashion retailers Boohoo and ASOS suspend sales to Russia in solidarity with Ukraine as M&S suspends shipments
Fast fashion retailer Boohoo has become the latest firm to announce it has suspended sales of clothes to Russia.
The Manchester-based e-commerce business joins brands such as Asos and Next, as well as designer names such as Burberry, in making a stand.
In a update published on the London Stock Exchange, Boohoo said it was “deeply concerned about the tragic developments in Ukraine.”
The brand said it suspended sales to Russia and shut its Russian trading websites “immediately” in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine last week.
Sales made by the retailer into Russia were “not material,” and made up less than 0.1 per cent of group revenues, the firm added.
On Wednesday, fast fashion rival Asos also said it had quit Russian trading as the conflict made it “impossible” to operate.
A spokesperson for the company said: “Immediately following the invasion, Asos suspended sales in Ukraine as it became impossible to serve customers there.
“Against the backdrop of the continuing war, Asos has decided that it is neither practical nor right to continue to trade in Russia, and has, therefore, today suspended our operations there.”
In the 2021 financial year, Russia and Ukraine represented around four per cent of group revenue and contributed approximately £20m to group profit.
High-street firm H&M said it was temporarily suspending sales too, with its Russian-English language website unavailable for shoppers to make orders.
The fashion firm has more than 150 stores in Russia, which were closed due to the war.
Luxury fashion house Burberry has halted all shipments of luxury goods to Russia, citing “operational challenges”.
The designer brand has four stores in Moscow and said it was monitoring the situation closely.
It comes as Labour has urged the government to go one step further and ban the export of British luxury goods to Russia.
As reported by CityA.M. on Thursday, shadow international trade secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said ministers must come down tougher on companies like Burberry and Vivienne Westwood selling their goods to Russia.
Tougher sanctions would ensure “Putin and his inner circle cannot live a Mayfair lifestyle in Moscow.”
Supermarket M&S also said it had suspended shipments to our Turkish franchisee’s Russian business.
In a statement, the supermarket said: “We are doing everything we can to support the people of Ukraine and in response to the growing refugee crisis, we are building on our existing support for UNICEF UK’s Ukraine appeal with a £1.5m package to support the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and UNICEF to help children and families in need.
“This is made up of a kickstart £0.5m donation to UNHCR with a further £0.5m for matched fundraising for all our global colleagues and double donations on Sparks transactions to support UNICEF; and activation of till-point and online giving in the UK. We are also providing practical help through UNHCR; donating 20,000 units of coats and thermals for families in need totalling a further £0.5m.”