French retailer Auchan says it plans to stay in Russia, Ukraine requires boycott By Reuters

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The emblem of Auchan grocery store is pictured in Saint-Sebastien-sur-Loire close to Nantes, France, February 1, 2022. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Picture

PARIS (Reuters) – Privately-owned French retailer Auchan plans to keep up its presence in Russia, its CEO mentioned in an interview revealed within the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche on Sunday, prompting Ukraine to name for a boycott of the worldwide chain.

Auchan, which has round 30,000 workers, 231 shops and e-commerce actions in Russia, has already been criticised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for remaining operational in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

Within the interview revealed on Sunday, Auchan’s chief govt Yves Claude mentioned he feared the corporate risked dropping property or exposing native managers to potential authorized troubles if it pulled out of Russia.

The agency would additionally stay in Ukraine, Claude mentioned, the place its 43 supermarkets and round 6,000 workers, together with in areas hit by the warfare, have been working below “excessive situations”.

“A very powerful in our eyes is to keep up our workers and guarantee our major mission, which is to proceed feeding the populations of those two nations,” Claude mentioned.

Responding to the report, Ukraine’s international minister referred to as for a boycott of Auchan and all of its merchandise.

“Apparently, job losses in Russia are extra essential than the lack of life in Ukraine,” Dmytro Kuleba mentioned on Twitter (NYSE:).

Ukrainian President Zelenskiy has mentioned it was obligatory that every one Western firms depart the Russian market and don’t cowl their “thirst for revenue” by means of “low cost” communication, explicitly citing Auchan and Swiss meals big Nestle.

The corporate generated 3.2 billion euros in gross sales in Russia final yr, round 10% of its world gross sales, and expects losses this yr in that market.

Moscow says the targets for what Putin calls a “particular army operation” embrace demilitarising and “denazifying” its neighbour. Ukraine and its Western allies calls this a pretext for an unprovoked invasion.