Global brands against the aggressor country

Russia’s unjust and terrible war in Ukraine has put some international businesses in front of an ethical challenge – to leave the aggressor country or just reduce some operations in the hope of buying time to continue doing business later. It is clear that the path that companies choose determines their relationship with customers for a long time. Thus, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, six out of ten Europeans want companies to punish countries that violate human rights and international law. Therefore, five out of ten people have already changed their behavior towards a brand or company (started or stopped buying their products or services and encouraged others to do so) based on how they reacted to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “On the other hand, companies that left Russia due to the war and were shocked by the loss of market and profit will return the lost by expanding to new markets and increasing their presence in existing ones thanks to the fulfillment of customer expectations,” – UTG specialists emphasize.

According to UTG experts, the toxicity of doing business in Russia has led to the suspension of work, blocking of supplies, stoppage of investments and the complete withdrawal from the market of most European and global brands. But according to forecasts, there is now a low probability of the return of popular brands to Russia in the near future. Therefore, world solidarity and loyalty are a real chance to attract new brands that previously ignored Ukraine immediately after the end of the war.

The company’s analysts also analyzed the main largest companies that left the Russian market with the start of hostilities. Yes, such retail brands as: Adidas, ASOS, Apple Store, Samsung, Burberry, Carlsberg, Dell, Diageo (Smirnoff, Guinness), Fazer, HP, Canon, H&M (COS, Monki), Hermès, Cartier, Chanel, iHerb, Inditex (Bershka, Zara, Pull and Bear, Stradivarius, Oysho), IKEA, Kering (Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen), JYSK, LEGO, Levi Strauss & Co, LPP (CROPP , House, Reserved), LVMH (Moët & Chandon, Dior, Louis Vuitton), Mango, Marks & Spencer, McDonald’s, Mytheresa, Nike, Pernod Ricard (Chivas Regal, Jameson), Plzensky Prazdroj, Staropramen, Budějovicky Budvar, Swarovski, Yoox, Sephora, Paulig, Puma, Valio left the aggressor country. Modern technologies have also stopped working on the Russian market: CISCO, Intel, Ericsson, IBM, Microsoft, Nokia, NVIDIA, Panasonic, Acronis, OneWeb, Oracle, SAP, Hitachi, Siemens. In industry, the companies BASF, Danone, Henkel, and among the automobile and aircraft builders – Airbus, BMW, Boeing, Dassault, Ford, General Motors (Chevrolet, Cadillac), Harley Davidson, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Renault, Rolls-Royce, SCANIA, Toyota (Lexus), Volkswagen (Audi, Bentley, Ducati, Lamborghini, Skoda, Volkswagen), Volvo. The largest representatives of the services and leisure market also left Russia: Accenture, BCG, CMA-CGM, DHL, EPAM Systems, FedEx, Foster+Partners, McKinsey, Mediterranean Shipping Company, Maersk, UPS, Zaha Hadid Architects, BBCOne, Electronic Arts, Rockstar Games (GTA, RDR), MEGOGO, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Spotify, Warner Bros, Walt Disney Company, Tik-Tok, Twitch, Coursera. And most importantly, international payment systems: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Revolut, Samsung pay, SWIFT, Western Union.