Fashion brands resume supplies to Russia

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Perfume and cosmetic products from the brands Lancome, Redken, Yves Saint Laurent, Helena Rubinstein, Valentino, Giorgio Armani, and Kerastase will now resume their supplies to Russia after parallel imports for the brands were banned, a spokesperson of Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (Minpromtorg) said as quoted by Sputnik.

"Yes, these brands are included in the exceptions and, accordingly, parallel imports are not possible for them. This became possible due to the readiness of these companies to resume deliveries of their products to Russia," the spokesperson added.

Furthermore, he noted that the ministry's exclusions will take effect in three months, allowing consumers who have already purchased Lancome, Redken, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, and Kerastase cosmetics to import them into Russia during that time.

The brands were added to the Minpromtorg parallel imports list in early August.

The Russian government legalized parallel imports (imports of goods from distributors for sale without the permission of the intellectual property owner) in March to meet the demand for foreign products that arose as a result of Western sanctions imposed in response to the war in Ukraine.

The United States has been spearheading a western campaign to impose sanctions on Russia in light of the war in Ukraine, which saw Moscow coming under a tide of draconian comprehensive sanctions, including restrictions on the Russian central bank, export control measures, SWIFT cutoff for select banks, and closure of airspace to all Russian flights. Many of their companies have suspended their Russian operations.

Sanctions fired back at the West, surging food prices to their highest levels ever, while the International Monetary Fund has constantly warned that global food prices will likely rise further in the future due to the war, the sanctions on Russia and Belarus, and climate issues ravaging the planet.

It is worth noting that many Western companies have suspended their Russian operations, and the sanctions even affected agriculture and foodstuffs.