Hugo Boss sells Russian business to Stockmann

Hugo Boss sells its business in Russia to its wholesale partner Stockmann.

A purchase price was not disclosed, as the Reuters reported on Monday. However, it is known that Russia requires foreign companies to sell assets at a discount of at least 50 percent. In its 2023 annual report, Hugo Boss valued the assets for sale in Russia at 27 million euros.

It was already announced in April that Hugo Boss wanted to completely separate itself from its Russian business ; activities in the country, together with Ukraine, contributed 3 percent to sales in 2021.

"We can confirm that our Russian subsidiary has been sold to Stockmann JSC, a company that is one of Hugo Boss's long-standing wholesale partners in the country," Hugo Boss told Reuters. FashionUnited has also asked Hugo Boss for comment.

The German fashion group closed its retail business in Russia after Russian troops invaded Ukraine two years ago. Online trading and advertising activities have also been put on hold. With the sale of the wholesale branch, Hugo Boss, like other western fashion companies, is now completely separating itself from its business in Russia .

The buyer of Hugo Boss Stockmann's Russian wholesale business is now an independent subsidiary of the Finnish department store operator Stockmann. The latter has also already separated from its branch in Russia.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited.DE, translated and edited to English.