Despite bold declarations at the onset of the full-scale invasion, only 372 or 10% of global companies have fully exited the Russian market. February saw 18 additional firms joining this group, including Inditex, the parent company of brands such as Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho, Pull & Bear, and Stradivarius.

These findings are part of the KSE Institute’s regular digest under the Self-Sanctions/LeaveRussia project, examining the repercussions of foreign business withdrawals on the Russian economy.

Beyond Inditex, which dissolved its remaining entities post-sale, the Kyiv School of Economics highlighted several international firms exiting Russia completely in the past month, some through liquidation: Drees & Sommer, GE Digital, Gett, Idexx Labs, Lindt & Sprüngli, ON Semiconductor.

Others exited by selling their operations: AGC, Equifax, Hempel, Holcim Group, Hydroscand, IKEA (JSC “INVEST PLUS” becomes the new founder of the organization but IKEA extended the registration of its trademark under one of four applications until August 2033), LeasePlan, Leoni AG, Polymetal, Sephora, Wienerberger. 

Additionally, two companies, Leroy Merlin and Playrix, have been downgraded to “stay” status, bringing the total count of exits to 18, although technically, it remains at 16.

The inquiry found that Leroy Merlin, despite announcing the sale of its Russian operations to SCENARI HOLDING LP from the UAE, only signed a nominal agreement without a change in CEO and continued its active cooperation with Russian government bodies, including the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The company also renewed its trademarks and brands with Rospatent till 2031.

Regarding Playrix, even though four of the group’s companies in Russia are being liquidated, the original owner of the main Playrix LLC remained, and the entity was rebranded as ITIDEV LAB LLC.

Moreover, in February, KSE analysts consolidated the “wait” and “stay” company categories, citing ample time had passed for firms to decide on a complete withdrawal from Russia since February 24, 2022.

As of March 3, 2024, over 2,150 international companies (57.5% of all entries in the KSE database) still operate in Russia and have no plans to leave. 

Meanwhile, another 1,215 foreign companies, or about 32.5%, have scaled back operations and announced intentions to exit the Russian Federation, yet only 372 (10% of the total in the KSE database or 26.4% of firms that generated revenue in Russia in 2022) have definitively cut ties with the aggressor.