Inditex announced this Tuesday that it

has reached an initial agreement for the sale of its business in the Russian Federation to the Daher group

, which has relevant holdings in the distribution and real estate sectors, as reported to the National Commission of the Market of Securities (CNMV).

The terms of this operation, subject to prior administrative authorization, will allow

"preserving a substantial part of the jobs that

the Inditex Group maintained" in Russia, by including the transfer of most of the premises occupied until now by its stores, according to explains the group in the note.

Inditex

had 502 stores in the Russian market,

most of them rented, and more than 9,000 employees.

Previous agreement with the owners, "these premises will house the future points of sale of brands owned by the purchasing group, totally unrelated to Inditex", they detail.

The transaction announced today will mean the cessation of Inditex's operations in this market.

In the event that new circumstances arise in the future that, in Inditex's opinion, would allow the return of the group's brands to this market, Inditex and the Daher group

"in their agreement contemplate the possibility of a collaboration between the two to through a franchise agreement,"

says the note.

This is how many chains operate in some Middle Eastern countries, where by law they can only open stores through franchises, with local partners who are in charge of running the business.

Inditex left Russia in March, shortly after the war broke out in Ukraine, and for some time it had been exploring different outlets for its business in this market.

"We continue to monitor the situation and assess different alternatives," Inditex CEO Óscar García Maceiras said last week.

The group had provisioned 216 million euros for 2022

, which is the cost of the entire operation in Russia and Ukraine, because although the stores were closed, salaries and other costs had to be paid.

Inditex estimates that this provision "substantially covers" the impact of the cessation of activity.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

  • Inditex Group

  • Russia

  • Ukraine