Burberry pauses Russia ops, Zalando donates to relief efforts

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 3, 2022

The number of fashion businesses taking action over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is growing with Burberry and Zalando the latest. Not long after ASOS, H&M and Boohoo said they were pausing operations in Russia, Burberry said it has put all shipments of its goods to Russia on hold “due to operational challenges”. 

The company has several stores in Russia with the country accounting for less than 1% of sales, according to reports. The company is monitoring the situation “closely” while also supporting its staff in Ukraine and Russia.

It added that it’s offering financial support too. “Millions of lives are being impacted by the events unfolding in Ukraine. To support the relief efforts, we are donating to the British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal, which is working to provide urgent aid, food, warm clothes and shelter to communities in desperate need”, it said.

“We will also be matching any employee donations to charities supporting humanitarian efforts in Ukraine with an equivalent donation to the appeal. These are incredibly difficult times for many people and our thoughts are with all those impacted by the crisis”.

Meanwhile, although Zalando doesn’t sell in either Ukraine or Russia, co-CEOs Robert Gentz and David Schneider said: “As a European-born company, we believe in democracy, are committed to peace and urgently wish to see an immediate end to the violence in Ukraine. Our thoughts are with the Ukrainian people, everyone suffering from this invasion, and everyone who is mobilising to support them.

“Our priority is to help our colleagues who are directly or indirectly affected, as well as their families. We are currently supporting them with counselling, visa processing, time away from work and transportation. We do not sell or ship to customers in Ukraine and Russia, nor do we have business operations (e.g. warehouses or logistics) there.

“We plan to use the strength of our logistics network in Poland and brand partnerships across Europe to provide what is needed most to support refugees via our NGO partners. We are committing €1 million to support humanitarian relief for those impacted by the war, alongside in-kind donations, employee volunteering and support for refugees.”

The company has also made direct contributions to a number of charities, including Polish Humanitarian Action, which is providing aid including food and other forms of support to refugees fleeing to Poland.