Russia approves sale of Spanish company Inditex's business to Daher group

The Russian government has approved the sale of the Spanish multinational Inditex's business in Russia to the Daher group, as announced by the deputy minister of industry and trade, Viktor Yevtujov.

According to Yevtujov, as cited by RBC, the new owner will open stores in Russia under the brands Maag, Dub, Ecru, and Vilet. The new stores are scheduled to open in April and May. 

Last October, the Spanish textile group Inditex, owner of Zara among other brands, announced that it had reached an agreement with the Daher group to sell its business in Russia, where it has about 500 stores.

Inditex emphasized that the terms of the deal would preserve "a substantial portion" of the jobs held by the Galician-based group in Russia.

As planned, the stores selling brands owned by the buyer group will be "completely unrelated to Inditex".

The transaction marks the end of Inditex's operations in Russia, following the suspension of its commercial activities in March 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of Western sanctions.

If future circumstances allow Inditex to return to Russia, the Spanish company has stated that it has reached an agreement with Daher to explore a collaboration between the two companies through a franchise agreement.

The Spanish group operated in Russia with several brands including Zara, Bershka, Pull&bear, Stradivarius, Oysho, Massimo Dutti, and Zara Home, with over 500 stores, all of which were rented.

Prior to the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, Inditex obtained 8.5% of its operating income from the Russian market.