The National Agency on Corruption Prevention added the world-famous brand Yves Rocher to the list of war-sponsoring companies.
From February 2022, the French company refused to boycott Russia by stopping business in this country. The Russian market was indeed a significant segment of its profits, so the refusal would carry significant losses. While other companies refused to work on the territory of the aggressor country for moral reasons, Yves Rocher chose another way – to continue the business.
Miser pays twice
However, after the company was officially listed as a war sponsor, its profits would drop. It is possible that the losses will be even greater than they would have been after leaving the Russian market since they will not concern the territory of the Russian Federation, but will have a much larger geography. Of course, the negative economic effect will be most noticeable in the first weeks after this event, and then the situation will gradually level off.
However, even in these few weeks, many partners will have time to refuse cooperation. In addition, the company’s reputation has been hit, because it positions itself as ecological, one that uses natural components and fights for the balance of nature. All these principles are not compatible with the support of the war started by Russia. The contribution of the Russian branch of “Yves Roche Vostok” for the past year reached 6 million dollars in the form of taxes to the budget of the aggressor country.
Who’s next?
The noise surrounding Yves Rocher will definitely not be the last drop, since less than 10% of global companies have left the Russian market. The largest shares among those who remained are companies from the following countries:
- Germany – 19.5%;
- USA – 12.4%;
- Japan – 7%.
Currently, the number of foreign companies that have not abandoned business in Russia is about 1 400.
