L'Oreal is closing its stores and suspending investments in Russia
Stand with Ukraine
Although at the beginning of the war L'Oreal tried to distance itself from these events with statements only about helping refugees from Ukraine, due to public pressure the company still decided to close all its stores and counters in department stores in Russia.
The company has also suspended all investments in industry and national media. True, as company representatives say, this is temporary.
We recently made a selection of beauty and fashion brands that left the Russian market as a protest against the war. Most cosmetic brands continue to ignore the issues of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, but positive changes are still being observed.
On March 8, an official statement from the company appeared on L’Oreal’s website and social networks:
“We strongly condemn the Russian invasion and war in Ukraine, which is causing so much suffering to the Ukrainian people. Our absolute priority is to support the 326 Ukrainian workers and their families whose lives have changed dramatically. Although some of them managed to cross the border, the majority still remain in the country under unbearable war conditions. We worry about them and fear for their safety.
Given the scale of what people on the ground are facing, we intend to provide as much support as possible – to our employees still in Ukraine, to our employees who have left or are leaving the country, and to the Ukrainian people.
Our teams in neighboring countries personally greet our Ukrainian colleagues crossing the border, and we provide them with psychological, medical, financial and legal assistance.
We cooperate with local and international non-governmental organizations (eg Red Cross), having already donated approximately 5 million euros. We have already distributed 250,000 essential care and hygiene products and will continue to provide additional products in the coming weeks.
As for our activities in Russia, we fully agree with the position of the French and European authorities. We have decided to temporarily close all of our own stores and department store counters, as well as suspend all investments in industry and national media. We have decided to temporarily close e-commerce sites of our own brands in Russia. We are evaluating additional measures to take care of our 2,200 Russian employees.
Our crisis committee, which has been continuously mobilized since the start of this war, is in daily contact with our teams on the ground and will continue to adapt our response according to the evolving situation."