The world’s number one toy, the Danish Lego group, announced on Tuesday that it would permanently cease sales in Russia due to the war in Ukraine, affecting the 81 stores operated by a Russian distributor.
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The maker of the famous plastic bricks “has decided to indefinitely cease its commercial activities in Russia” and “to end its partnership” with the Russian distributor Inventive Retail Group, “which owned and operated 81 stores in the name of the brand” , a spokeswoman told AFP.
The Danish group will also cut the posts of “most of its Moscow-based team”, she said.
Lego had already decided at the beginning of March to suspend its deliveries to Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, but the stores operated by its subcontractor had been able to remain open and continue to sell their stocks.
“We confirm the termination of the contract with Lego,” a spokeswoman for Inventive Retail Group told AFP on Tuesday. “Our company will continue to work as an expert in the category of construction and educational toys,” she said, without further details.
Inventive Retail Group has not announced any job cuts at this stage.
In early May, Russia placed Lego products on a list of around 100 categories of goods whose import without the consent of intellectual property holders was allowed.
Among these products, there were also Apple or Samsung telephones, major car brands, game consoles and even materials and spare parts used in industry.
Lego recorded a profit in Russia, up 63% year on year in 2021, to 1.8 billion rubles (about 30 million euros at the current rate), according to the Spark database, quoted by the Russian newspaper RBK.
