MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian distributor of Western sports brands will start selling Adidas and Reebok products as soon as this week, despite the companies’ departure from the market over the war in Ukraine, the Kommersant daily reported on Wednesday.
Adidas and Reebok were among hundreds of Western companies that decided to suspend business operations in Russia soon after Moscow launched its war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Adidas and rival Nike subsequently opted to leave the market completely. Authentic Brands Group-owned Reebok’s Russian business was taken over by Turkey’s FLO retailing, Kommersant daily reported in May 2022.
Russians have developed solutions to the brand exodus with small-scale imports and online sellers helping to keep foreign brands alive, particularly consumer goods that are not subject to sanctions.
Citing the head of the marketing department at Lestate, the distributor, Kommersant reported that the company will develop a network of mono-brand stores with goods from Adidas and Reebok.
Lestate already sells clothing and shoes from Nike in Russia, Kommersant reported.
There was no suggestion that Adidas, Reebok or Nike were facilitating Lestate’s sale of their goods.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Alexander Marrow and Sharon Singleton)
