Around $9 billion is spent on luxury goods by Russian citizens.  The Chinese population spends about 6% on luxury goods. When the Russian Ukrainian war was about to begin, Russians started buying up all of the goods at stores to add to their wealth as the ruble drops to less than 1% in U.S dollar worth.

The brands do not want to lose the Russian customers, however Chanel said it will take action with it 17 stores in Russia, “major uncertainty and the complexities of operating leads it to temporarily suspend its operations in the country.” “We won’t be delivering to Russia anymore, we will close our stores and we have already suspended internet shopping,.”

LVMH says it will still pay its 3500 employees that it currently has employees in Russia The luxury brand has made a sizable contribution to the international Red Cross to help Ukrainians. LVMH, owns the Christian Dior, Givenchy, and Bulgari and more, has announced it will close 124 boutiques in Russia this Sunday.

Stocks like Burberry have seen big declines. Shares are down more than 20% this week and LVMH is down about 17%.

Ralph Lauren reports approximately a quarter of its sales are connected to Europe and shares are getting hammered. Prada and Hermes have also cancelled the sale of goods in Russia.

Prada Image  Wikimedia