French hypermarket chain Auchan has decided to leave Russia – media

The French hypermarket chain Auchan, which has kept its business in Russia so far, is selling its subsidiary. The company has found local buyers, French media outlets Le Figaro and La Lettre reported, citing their sources.

According to Le Figaro, the northern distributor of Auchan, owned by the Mulliez family, previously refused to leave Russia, claiming that it didn’t want “to penalize the local population,” but in fact Russia was one of the company’s strategic markets along with China.

Auchan has been operating in Russia for 20 years.

However, due to the pressure of Western sanctions on Moscow, it eventually became unacceptable for the company to continue operating in Russia. According to Le Figaro, the Auchan group has chosen two potential buyers. The company is reportedly in the final stages of negotiations.

The French chain also plans to wind down its operations in Hungary but will keep its presence in Ukraine.

After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Auchan Retail International CEO Yves Claude stated in late March 2022 that Auchan would not leave the Russian market.

In February 2023, the Ukrainian National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption added Auchan to the “list of international sponsors of war.” The Russian invading army in the occupied Ukrainian territories was reportedly receiving free goods from Auchan.

In February 2023, a joint journalistic investigation by The Insider, Le Monde, and Bellingcat was published, which revealed that since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Auchan could supply goods to the Russian invading troops in the occupied Ukrainian territories for free as “humanitarian aid.” The company denied the allegations.

Russia is Auchan’s second most important market after France. In 2020 alone, Auchan paid $167 million to the Russian budget. According to investigative journalists, this is equal to the cost of 15 Su-25 aircraft, 42 tanks, 222 Kalibr missiles, or almost half a million AK-74 assault rifles.

In March 2024, Reuters reported that Auchan plans to open a chain of new stores in Russia called My Auchan. This meant that Auchan was about to double its presence in the Russian market, a market that other Western retailers have been avoiding due to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

So far, Auchan has been on the list of Top-10 international companies still operating in Russia in 2024 despite Russia’s war in Ukraine.