French retailer Auchan plans to open a new store in Russia selling almost exclusively private-label products, doubling down on its presence in a market that many other Western retailers have shunned over Russia's actions in Ukraine.
Auchan Retail Russia said the new 'My Auchan' store would offer an assortment of about 900 items, 90% of which will be food products under Auchan's own brands.
Auchan's decision to maintain its presence in Russia prompted Ukraine to call for a boycott of the chain as other global brands, such as McDonald's and Nike pulled out.
Main Mission
Auchan has said its main mission in Russia is to provide the population with quality products at affordable prices.
Last year, Auchan announced plans to maintain its presence in Russia, its CEO said in an interview published in the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche in March, prompting Ukraine to call for a boycott of the international chain.
"The most important in our eyes is to maintain our employees and ensure our primary mission, which is to continue feeding the populations of these two countries," Yves Claude said.
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In a statement on its website, the retailer said that it would remain loyal to a 'population that has no personal responsibility in triggering this war.
Abandoning our employees, their families and our customers is not the choice we have made. As French President Emmanuel Macron reminded us “we are not at war with the Russian people”.'
It also added that the closure of its activities would be a 'premeditated bankruptcy', leading to an expropriation of its business 'that would strengthen the Russian economic and financial ecosystem'.
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