A recent Financial Times investigation has revealed that Spanish fashion giant Inditex, the owner of Zara, may have laid the groundwork for a future return to Russia despite publicly announcing its withdrawal from the market following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Inditex, which also owns Bershka, Pull & Bear, and Stradivarius, halted operations in Russia just nine days after the full-scale invasion and declared a formal exit eight months later. However, documents obtained by the Financial Times show that before finalizing the sale of its Russian business in early 2023, Inditex injected significant funds into the local operation—raising questions about the nature of the exit.
The buyer, a company named Mixed R DMCC, is controlled by members of the Lebanese Daher family, who also own Azadea Group, Inditex’s franchise partner in the Middle East. Although Inditex claimed that the sale was made to an unrelated group and for a “not significant” sum, Mixed R quickly launched replacement brands—Maag, Dub, Ecru, and Vilet—which now operate in the same store locations and use many of the same suppliers and staff as Inditex’s former Russian brands.
Importantly, the deal allows Inditex to convert the arrangement into a franchise agreement “immediately” and at no cost if conditions permit, enabling Zara and its sister brands to return to Russia using the same infrastructure.
“This appears to be a similar playbook to other ‘boomerang’ withdrawals or exits where the groundwork to return when palatable is laid,” said Professor Kristian Lasslett of Ulster University, who studies corporate conduct in conflict zones.
Between late 2022 and mid-2023, Inditex wrote off a €120 million loan to its Russian unit and subsequently injected more than €65 million into the business. The group said these funds were necessary to cover operational costs like employee wages and landlord obligations while the business was up for sale. However, experts interviewed by the Financial Times questioned why a company would invest heavily in an asset it was preparing to sell, calling it an unusual move.
In the interim, more than 800 apparel shipments arrived in Russia from the Middle Eastern buyer before the sale was completed—suggesting preparations were underway for an uninterrupted retail experience under the new branding. The new companies’ designs have also drawn comparisons to Zara’s, and even used the same photoshoot locations and production teams in some cases. Inditex declined to comment on product similarities, stating only that it ensures exclusivity for its own brand offerings.
While Inditex insists it no longer has any involvement with its former Russian operation, Financial Times reports that many former Inditex employees relocated to the UAE to work for the new company, some even while on extended leave from Inditex.
Russian media have speculated about a potential return of Inditex to the Russian market, but the company dismissed these as “misleading rumours.” Nonetheless, the strategic structure of the exit has sparked debate about how definitive the withdrawal truly was.
“This seems to be part of a pattern… where companies have left Russia and the assets have been put in the name of these carefully curated holding companies in the UAE,” Lasslett added. “Set-ups of this sort raise the question of how much was a genuine withdrawal and how much is a holding position until they can return.”
Inditex has maintained that its exit complied with all legal requirements and was executed with transparency, telling the Financial Times that its financial statements “reliably, accurately and precisely” reflect the transaction.
