LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) – Wines and spirits group Pernod Ricard said it was suspending exports of its premium Absolut vodka to Russia entirely, after already slashing sales following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Last week, several media outlets reported that Absolut “provides products in an amount to support local employees and ensure the economic viability of local entities”, quoting a Pernod Ricard spokesperson.
This information has drawn criticism in Sweden, where the vodka is made.
Pernod said in a statement emailed to Reuters that it had taken the decision to suspend Absolut exports entirely due to a “duty of care to our employees and partners”.
“We cannot expose them to massive criticism in any form. This is why The Absolut Company has decided to stop exporting its brand to Russia,” the company said in a statement.
Like many Western consumer goods companies, Pernod Ricard virtually stopped selling products in Russia last year, when it previously made about 3% of its sales there.
By limiting the supply, Pernod Ricard was able to shield its local team from criminal liability charges, the company said, citing “intentional bankruptcy”.
Some Western companies leaving Russia have been reluctant to halt production or let factories idle, fearing they could be seen as deliberately bankrupting their business.
However, efforts by Western brands to pull out of Russia have been complicated by Moscow’s attempts to shield Russian consumers from Western isolation.
On Friday, Russia released a list of products from foreign automakers, tech firms and consumer brands that the government has included in a system it calls “parallel imports.”
“For greater clarity, this will unfortunately not prevent Absolut from falling into the hands of the ‘parallel market’, which has risen sharply in recent months and over which we have no control,” Pernod Ricard said on Tuesday.
The group continues to supply a limited number of other brands in Russia.
(Report Dominique Vidalon and Richa Naidu; Lina Golovnya, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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