Western Brands 'Left' Russia - The Truth About Sanctions

We went to the biggest mall in Europe to see how many brands actually left Russia - and if you can still get their products.

The reality of Russian life after sanctions

In this video:
00:00 Russia is the most sanctioned country in the world
00:20 The largest mall in Europe
00:44 Did western brands really leave Russia?
01:40 Which brands closed?
02:46 Russian Starbucks rebrand
03:36 Electronics, cosmetics, toys and food under sanction
05:04 How supermarkets changed under sanctions
07:24 Not a political statement!

This video is not sponsored, and I am not affiliated with any political organizations. This video is intended purely for entertainment purposes, not news or reporting.

[Bellax]

Ive always wondered whats in russian stores and malls thanks for showing us 😁

[IphigeniaAtAulis]

Let's be honest here, if American weapons manufacturers could get away with it, they would be selling as many weapons to Russia as they do Ukraine. Greed knows no bounds.

[MillionMilesMarc]

You totally forgot to mention the main thing, the supermaket you were in Is actually French ! Auchan (Ашан) Décathlon (Декатлон) and Leroy Merlin (Леруа Мерлин) never leaved Russia and are among Russia's biggest employers.

[ЗоранКузмановић]

Considering what kind of crap Starbucks is, if Star coffee is even worse, why don't people just drink Italian espresso at a lower price in any place that has a quality espresso machine, instead of trying to be trendy and paying for expensive coffee

[roxxyredandsweetiemow]

I don't understand sanctions that do nothing but jury the civilian population. It's not hurting the people at the top who actually cause the problems. The regular everyday people are not the cause of anything negative so they shouldn't be forced to suffer.

[ВикторияДубинина-нп]

Russia one of the largest market, all these brands get milliards here, so i can only imagine how they cry when their politics force them out, thn they see how much money they lost and immediately return, but now with other names. Lol. But if even someone not return no one in Russia care, as i say we have big choice. Also in Russia many love b-y things online. +We have gigantic choice of products bc most of them our own, so if all western product despair, our stors will be still f-l, and our fermers will be more than happy.

[blueduck]

It looks like the russian economy is doing well, and looks like there is very little difference between russia and the usa. .... why cant everybody get a long?

[alerausm]

Не пали контору, друг. Мы тут последних ежей доедаем )

[Raghetiel]

5:53 "Every day" brand sells a lot of product for absurdly low prices.

The quality is expectedly terrible, and its even joked as "poison" food.
Indian tea for ~15 cents is such an obvious trap

[ДмитрийШайтура]

В Москве (да и в других городах тоже) есть очень много местных кофеен, где варят хороший кофе, ничуть не хуже старбакса.

[alec]

So after some research on this I think I've found some answers. Basically if a company as big as H&M wants to leave Russia they need permission from the finance ministry first. Sure they can leave whenever they want but they'll have no way to pay off their assets and are still going to need to pay on the property they still own in Russia whether they're open for business or not. So for companies like H&M that rent a whole wing of the mall there it's financial suicide to leave without selling off your assets first. H&M has submitted a request but they still have no response 4 months later, which seems to be the latest strategy to get companies to stay.

[eilat]

Great clip, but note that the store you identified as Polo Ralph Lauren was in fact US Polo Association - similar look and logo but completely different companies.

[Cmpuerdkor]

Food, fruit, drinks are not sanctioned either. Western companies that have ceased trading in Russia have done so largely voluntarily or for image reasons.

[mxev]

re:Store and Мир кубиков are not rebrands though, they've always had these names

[webkeeper]

Today, 04-06-2024, Starbucks made requests, 8 of them, to return to Russia.

[SuperWeirdPCs]

iStore никогда не было в России. Официальным продавцом всегда был Re:Store и он никак не изменился после санкций

[nanamitaki]

Just for information auchan is french. Auchan is a French retail company, founded by Gérard Mulliez in 1961 and managed by the Mulliez Family Association.

[evgeny]

I'm sorry, Starbucks coffee is disgusting, so if you're complaining about Star Coffee, you know nothing about coffee.

[Billionaireben]

My understanding is that Russians are making the products because foreign countries can't send inventory, they'll probably see increased margin on what they do sell. Not sure now that I see lids in English first.

[kseniyayou]

Я полностью за санкции в отношении продуктов, бытовой химии. Пожалуйста, введите санкции! Дорогу нашим компаниям, которые не всегда могут позволить себе такую дорогую рекламную компанию