Aussie fashion icons Blundstone, Zimmerman halt sales to Russia

Iconic Aussie fashion retailers have suspended sales to Russia amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

Australian fashion designer, Zimmermann, says it has put a temporary halt on sales into Russia.

While Russia may make up only a tiny portion of Australia’s fashion sales exports, moves by Aussie fashion brands to pull up stumps in Russia follows some of the world’s biggest clothing companies amid the escalating situation in Ukraine.

The move comes as classic Tasmanian boot brand Blundstone, which has a Russian website and Instagram page, has also suspended sales to its Russian distributor.

Blundstone joint CEO Adam Blake said the company sells its boots indirectly through a distributor in Russia, but has now stopped sales temporarily.

“Our sales to Russia have represented something less than 0.1 per cent of our worldwide business,” Mr Blake told NCA newswire.

“We have held back a shipment of products that was due to go to our Russian distributor this month, and the product will be sent to other customers instead.

“We have cancelled future orders/shipments as well.”

Global fashion brand Zimmermann was founded in Sydney in 1991 and has grown to open stores in the US, UK and Europe, explained its action in a statement.

“Given the invasion of Ukraine and the trade sanctions imposed by the international community, Zimmermann has paused sales into Russia until further notice,” a company spokeswoman said on Monday.

The move follows in the steps of other fashion retailers such as Swedish multinational clothing company H&M Group, which has temporarily paused all sales in Russia — it’s sixth largest market according to the company’s fourth quarter 2021 results.

The global fashion retailer has 168 stores in Russia alone.

“H&M Group is deeply concerned about the tragic developments in Ukraine and stand with all the people who are suffering,” the company said on its website last Wednesday.

“The situation is continuously monitored and evaluated. Representatives of the company are in dialogue with all relevant stakeholders.”

Spanish fashion brand Mango also announced a temporary closure of its 120 Russian stores while sportswear company Nike says purchases online and via the Nike app are temporarily unavailable in the region.

It comes as global furniture retailer Ikea paused all exports and imports in and out of Russia and Belarus.

“The war has had a huge human impact already,” the Dutch-headquartered multinational conglomerate said on its website.

“The devastating war in Ukraine is a human tragedy, and our deepest empathy and concerns are with the millions of people impacted.”

Tech giant apple also joined a long list of major companies to shun Russia in response to the Ukraine invasion.

The move means all Apple product sales, including iPhones and other tech products, in Russia will be paused, along with exports into its Russian sales channel.