Pernod Ricard has stopped all spirits exports to Russia again and indicated it will cease activities there in the coming months.
The French spirits group said it would take several months to stop selling in Russia, which represented less than 3% of its sales before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.
Last month, Pernod said it would continue doing business in Russia, as changes in imports legislation there allowing third parties to bring in alcohol without the agreement of producers, meant the stock would get there anyway. It said the new “parallel imports” rules also increased the risk of counterfeiting.
Soon after, however, it was forced to reverse that position for Absolut vodka after a call for a boycott in its home country Sweden threatened sales.
Read more: Putin’s Back Door for Whisky, Cognac Gives Distillers a Headache
Products like Diageo Plc’s Johnnie Walker whisky and Remy Cointreau SA’s Remy Martin cognac are widely available in Russia, even though the distillers stopped exporting to the country last year.
Western consumer goods companies with businesses in Russia have struggled with finding the balance between taking a moral stance on the war in Ukraine while protecting longer-term sales growth during a spending squeeze in their main markets.
Parallel imports of certain goods are not uncommon and are permitted in many countries such as Australia, which allows them for pharmaceuticals to ensure greater availability and competitive prices. But Russia has been expanding the list of goods for which it allows the practice to soften the disruption to consumers after scores of Western companies halted shipments in response to President Vladimir Putin’s military aggression.
Pernod employs about 300 employees in Russia and had already suspended all marketing investment.
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