After suspending their exports to Russia last week, the brands of the Swatch watch group have temporarily closed their stores in this country.
“Due to the growing difficulties and the complexity of managing our stores in Russia, we have decided to close them temporarily,” a spokesperson for the group told AWP, confirming information published by Bloomberg.
However, the owner of the Omega, Longines, Tissot and Blancpain brands did not indicate how many stores are affected by this measure, nor the turnover generated in this market.
Richemont, owner of Cartier, halted its business activities in Russia on Thursday March 3. On February 24, the Genevan had already interrupted his activities in Ukraine because of the war. The employees concerned receive the financial, logistical and moral support necessary to guarantee their well-being.
Last week, Swatch announced the suspension of exports following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The bank UBS for its part estimates that Swatch generates 2 to 3% of its sales in Russia and Richemont around 2%. Total exposure to Russian customers would be 3 to 4% worldwide for the group from Biel and 2% for the Geneva group.
/ ATS