French beauty brand L'Occitane is continuing to trade in its stores in Russia despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The beauty company told the BBC it has considered the option of closing shop doors "at length", but said the decision was made to keep them open because the firm wants to ensure staff are protected from potential "retaliation".
The company has stopped shipping to Russia, but sales still seem to be available online. It comes after several international beauty brands such as L'Oreal and Estee Lauder have already shut up shop, and disabled online sales in Russia.
L'Occitane has already come under criticism by some customers who are calling for people to boycott the brand, which has products on shelves at over 3,085 retail outlets around the world. The cosmetics company, which homes spas and stores in Russian cities such as Moscow and St Petersburg, claimed it could not close its shops due to the "risk" that comes with the decision.
A spokeswoman told the BBC: "At this point we cannot guarantee that our 700 employees in Russia will not face retaliation if we cease to operate in the country. We are particularly concerned for those of our employees who have relatives in Ukraine or who are of Ukrainian descent.
"At the same time, we are firmly committed to our partners and their employees in Ukraine."
Despite the decision the well-known brand has also strongly condemned Russia's "unjustified and unprovoked" invasion, and has greatly reduced its operations in Russia having suspended its investment plans and all shipments into the country.
It declined to comment on whether online sales are continuing in the country, and how preventing shipments would impact on its Russian shops. Posting a picture of a L'Occitane product on Twitter, one customer said: "I've used this cream for years, never again. Even if they back out, they've showed their corporate integrity."
A number of firms, including L'Occitane, are currently listed as still operating in Russia by Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfeld at Yale University's School of Management. Others include the French energy giant EDF, the UAE's Emirates airline as well as China's Lenovo computer brand.
But there is a bigger group of around 600 companies that have either stopped or suspended sales in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine began. These firms include Starbucks, Coca Cola, Levi's and Apple.
Meanwhile there are some international outlets that remain open in Russia due to complex franchise deals that stops them from being able to withdraw. Burger King and hotel groups such as Marriott and Accor are examples of firms that have been restricted by such matters.
Professor Vanessa Burbano, of Columbia Business School in the US, told the BBC: "Customers and employees do pay attention to which companies are first in making these kinds of commitments and which firms don't go as far. The risk of companies making claims that may not be perceived as consistent with their actions is that they could be seen as a green-washing in the Ukraine context which would be bad for their reputation."
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