H&M temporarily suspends sales in Russia

Considering the safety of its customers and employees, H&M, a Swedish fashion giant, has temporarily suspended all sales in Russia, it said on Wednesday.

The clothing brand has thus joined a growing list of companies shunning the country since Moscow invaded Ukraine.

"H&M Group is deeply concerned about the tragic developments in Ukraine and stands with all the people who are suffering," the world's second-biggest fashion retailer said in an official statement.

The stores in Ukraine have already been temporarily closed due to the safety of customers and colleagues, it noted, adding, "the situation is continuously monitored and evaluated. Representatives of the company are in dialogue with all relevant stakeholders. 

Russia was H&M's sixth biggest market with 4% of group sales in the fourth quarter of 2021. While the fashion brand has been reducing the number of physical stores in many markets, it has been increasing store count in Russia to 170, according to a Reuters report.

H&M had around 4,800 physical stores worldwide as of 30 November, of which 548 were in the US, 445 in China and 441 in Germany. It aims to double sales by 2030 compared with sales in 2021 of $20.6 billion.

Some of the biggest Western brands have suspended operations in Russia in an unprecedented wave of corporate action against Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.

While talking to The Business Standard, Shams Mahmud, managing director at Shasha Denim Mills Ltd, said Russia, a new market worth $600 million for Bangladeshi apparel exporters, will be closed as shipping lines are not willing to sail to Russia amid the ongoing war. 

One of his Russian buyers is in talks with him over payments through an alternative channel as Russian banks are cut off from SWIFT, the main international payment system, he noted. 

"Keeping Shipping lines active is the main challenge to doing business with Russia," Shams Mahmud said, also a former president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry.)

Bangladesh now has an opportunity to enhance its share in the US market for it being a top denim exporter to it, he pointed out. 

"Our better-performing knitwear exports can further strengthen our foothold in the US market."

Expressing concern about the war's impact on the global economy, he said if the war prolongs, it will be a cause of global inflation, which will also have a ripple effect on consumers' buying capacity. 

According to the Export Promotion Bureau, Bangladesh exported $665.32 million worth of goods to Russia in FY21, of which, $607 million came from apparel and textile exports.