A major Turkish shoe retailer is in talks to buy dozens of stores owned by fitness brand Reebok in Russia, FLO Mağazacılık's chairperson said Monday.
FLO Mağazacılık’s deal to take over more than 100 Reebok outlets has not been finalized, its chairperson of the board, Mehmet Ziylan, told Reuters, denying a report in Russian daily Kommersant that the company had already taken over the business.
"We are talking, but there is nothing more definite," Ziylan said.
Kommersant cited a source close to FLO as saying the deal had been finalized and more than 100 Reebok stores in Russia had passed to the Turkish company’s control.
Western companies have been rushing out of Russia since it started its invasion of Ukraine. In March, Rebook suspended all branded stores and e-commerce operations in Russia.
Kommersant cited analysts as saying the deal, which would give FLO its first shops in the country, could be worth as much as 1.5 billion rubles ($24.8 million).
Ziylan said FLO currently makes wholesale sales to Russia but does not have its own stores there.
Last month Anheuser-Busch InBev said it plans to exit Russia by selling its interest in a joint venture with Turkish brewer Anadolu Efes that operates in Russia and Ukraine and expects to take a $1.1 billion charge as a result.
Asked about investing in Russia when many international brands had left the country following Russia’s invasion of its southern neighbor, Ziylan said the company will follow the Turkish government’s policy on the issue.
"Our country does not have an embargo there. We will continue as long as our country does not tell us to stop," he said.
NATO member Turkey, a Black Sea neighbor of Russia and Ukraine, has good ties with the warring nations and has opposed Western sanctions on Moscow.
Ankara has maintained careful rhetoric and has been undertaking considerable mediation efforts to end the conflict.
Ziylan declined to say the size of a possible deal.
Some Western companies have agreed to sell their Russian assets or hand them over to local managers as they scramble to comply with sanctions over the Ukraine conflict and deal with threats from the Kremlin that foreign-owned assets may be seized.
Among the latest to announce their complete exits, French carmaker Renault said Monday it will sell its majority stake in Russia’s biggest carmaker, AvtoVAZ, to the Russian Central Research and Development Automobile and Engine Institute (Nami), with a six-year option to buy back the stake.
Renault also said that 100% of the shares in Renault Russia will go to the city of Moscow.
U.S.-based restaurant chain McDonald’s on Monday also announced it would sell its business in Russia after more than 30 years of operating in the country. The company expects to record a mostly non-cash charge of about $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion.