Foreign retailers who have stayed on in Russia following Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine are facing backlash by shoppers in Poland who have turned to boycotting stores and brands, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said, according to a Bloomberg report on Friday (March 25).
“It shows that ordinary people, more than corporations, understand that current times are exceptional,” Morawiecki told reporters in Warsaw on Thursday. “Decency requires taking actions that trigger losses.”
Morawiecki said government data shows declining sales in Polish stores run by companies that have refused to exit Russia. Although he declined to call out specific companies, the French grocer Auchan and home improvement chain Leroy Merlin have both been called out on Twitter, Reddit and Instagram in boycott campaigns.
Related: Responding to Russia, Food Businesses Rethink Product Assortment, Logistics
Leroy Merlin operates 75 outlets in Poland, Eastern Europe’s biggest economy, and 112 in Russia. The chain said it has been assisting refugees and has helped 300 employees and their families from its Ukraine location.
Poland’s largest private television station, TVN — owned by Discovery — dropped its sponsorship agreement with Leroy Merlin. The state-sponsored Polskie Radio dropped the retailer’s commercials. The government is also weighing a penalty on multinationals that have decided to remain in Russia.
The 300-plus mile border Poland shares with Ukraine has been a busy escape route for refugees fleeing for their safety. Poland has taken in over 2 million people seeking refuge from Russian attacks.
Multinational food-products company Danone S.A.’s Polish unit wants the company and the entire industry to make “more brave decisions” regarding Russia, Bloomberg reported.
The company has stopped investments in Russia as well as the shipment of non-essential products such as Evian bottled water but still sells dairy products and baby food in the country.
Auchan, Decathlon and Leroy Merlin, which are owned by the Mulliez family, didn’t respond to requests for comment regarding sales in Poland since the Russian invasion started last month.
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