Nike To Fully Exit Russia As Ukraine Invasion Continues
Nike Inc. announced its plans to exit the Russian market completely following Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, reports said. The sportswear major, with more than 100 stores in the country, had suspended operations there in March.
Earlier in March, while suspending operations temporarily, the company had said its customers that it couldn’t guarantee product shipments. In May Nike said it wouldn’t renew an agreement with its biggest Russian retail franchisee and that it would not make any new business commitments.
An expected new law in Russia could allow the Government there to seize assets of the foreign companies seeking to exit the country and impose criminal penalties on them.
Technology company Cisco also is reportedly planning to exit from the Russian market and Belarus. The telecoms equipment maker had suspended business operations, including sales and services, in Russia in March.
Nike and Cisco joined the long list of companies suspending or withdrawing their Russian operations over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. These include McDonald’s Corp., Starbucks Corp., and HP Inc, among others, who have exited the Russian market citing the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, as well as the unpredictable operating environment.
Netflix, the popular video streaming service, in March said it was shutting down all its operations in Russia. International Business Machines Corp. also wind down its business.
Tech majors Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Also have suspended all sales and services in Russia, while payment companies Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. decided to cease all transactions in the country.
Earlier, TikTok, a video-focused social networking service with one billion users worldwide, had decided earlier to suspend livestreaming in Russia and new content to video service.
Outside the U.S., Henkel, Nokia, Holcim, Philip Morris International, and Marsh McLennan have joined the list of companies wind up operations in Russia.
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