Unilever Sells Its Business In Russia

Unilever, the owner of brands such as Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise, announced that it has completed the sale of its Russian business to Arnest Group, a local manufacturer of perfume, cosmetics, and household products, for an undisclosed sum, Reuters reported.

The British consumer goods company stated that the sale includes all of its business operations and four factories in Russia. I Photo: Unilever

The British consumer goods company stated that the sale includes all of its business operations and four factories in Russia, as well as its business in Belarus. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Unilever's CEO Hein Schumacher, in his first year in charge, has also overseen plans to spin off the group’s ice cream business, reduce staff by up to 7,500, and focus on 30 key brands to address years of underperformance, as reported by CNN.

Unilever's ongoing presence in Russia after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 drew criticism from campaigners and Ukraine’s government.

However, the company was the first major European food company to halt imports into and exports out of Russia in March 2022.

“Over the past year, we have been carefully preparing the Unilever Russia business for a potential sale. This work has been very complex and has involved separating IT platforms and supply chains, as well as migrating brands to Cyrillic,” Schumacher stated, referencing the Russian alphabet.