Russian E-commerce Wildberry Still Sells Western Goods That Impose Sanctions

JAKARTA - The leader of the e-commerce market in Russia, Wildberry, apparently still sells clothing from the Inditex brand which has been suspending operations in the country. This includes the Spanish group's main label, Zara.

The TASS news agency reported on Tuesday, June 14 that Zara goods were still on sale at Wildberry, which the Russian company confirmed.

Inditex is one of many Western brands to close shops and suspend their operations in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine. But continued sales of some of its products highlight the difficulties companies face in maintaining control of their brands in the country.

Other Inditex brands, Massimo Dutti and Pull&Bear, are also available at Wildberry, which says it will continue to offer the items to Russian consumers while they last.

"We buy the goods we sell from Wildberry without intermediaries, only directly from authorized manufacturers or distributors," said Wildberry in a statement, Tuesday, June 14. However, it is not clear which distributor Wildberry is referring to.

A source close to Inditex said the items sold by Wildberry were licensed stock that was already in Russia when it stopped operations there. Inditex has stopped shipping products to Russia since the suspension, the source added.

Products from many other Western brands are also still available at Wildberry. E-commerce does not limit the products that can be sold on its platform.

The company started as an online platform that resells clothes from German postal order group Otto and now supplies everything from electronics to kitchenware, its success has turned founder Tatyana Bakalchuk into the richest woman in Russia.

Plagued by sanctions and supply chain problems, Russia has legalized so-called parallel imports, which allows retailers to import products from abroad without the trademark owner's permission.

Bakalchuk in March described the scheme as an effective support measure, highlighting its importance for small and medium-sized enterprises and for the import of socially significant products.