Not All US-EU Companies Cease Business in Russia

Almost 250 international companies continue to operate in Russia, including more than 100 EU enterprises, according to a list compiled by Yale’s Chief Executive Leadership Institute. 

Since the launch of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the institute has been tracking the responses of more than 1,200 companies. 

“Over 1,000 companies have publicly announced they are voluntarily curtailing operations in Russia to some degree beyond the bare minimum legally required by international sanctions – but some companies have continued to operate in Russia undeterred”, it said. 

Among 247 international companies that continue their activity in Russia, 116 originate from EU countries, including prominent brands such as Benetton, Diesel, Giorgio Armani, Lacoste, and Romania’s Raiffeisen Bank, to name a few. Some American names, such as Hard Rock Café, Tom Ford, and TGI Fridays, also feature on the list of companies “that are just continuing business-as-usual in Russia”. 

The Russian intervention saw the collective West imposing hard-hitting sanctions on many sectors of the Russian economy. [My post “Sanctions Against Russia Have Been Mostly Unsuccessful” published June 09 refers]. And since the end of February, hundreds of foreign companies had announced the cessation of their operations in Russia. 

In retaliation, Russia imposed its own counter-sanctions against ‘unfriendly’ countries and adopting measures against their companies. 

At the same time, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that Russia will “take good care of those foreign businessmen who stay” by offering them favorable conditions. 

President Vladimir Putin had previously stated that Russia will welcome back businesses that want to return, but warned that some companies may regret the decision to leave. Peskov volleyed the comment that for many businesses that left the country, it will be difficult to come back, because “the vacuum” created by a company that leaves “is instantly filled by someone else”.

Anyway, as I had reiterated previously, sanctions against Russia have mostly failed. The West are just shooting themselves in the foot!

* Note: Cartoons have been edited

Fashion Needs to Be Seen in Real Life, Says Giorgio Armani

Ciao! Milan’s Men’s Fashion Week (June 18-22) is nowhere near the usual 40-plus schedule of 'live' shows – but anyway, it did see Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana and Etro putting on physical spectacles in the Italian fashion capital. 

As Italy’s second largest industry with pre-Covid turnover hitting the €100 billion mark, Armani (right) said fashion week would “be fundamental” in helping the Italian economy recover following the pandemic. He hosted his first physical fashion show in 16 months on Monday – the spring/summer 2022 menswear show. 

Like the rest of the fashion industry, due to the coronavirus, the veteran designer pivoted to showing his collections in a digital format as opposed to in front of the 200+ strong crowd he is used to – but has “realized that fashion cannot survive for long in an exclusively virtual form”. 

“I appreciate the importance of virtual presentations; they are useful and global”, he added. “[But] fashion needs to be seen in real life…”. 

“The digital fashion show is fake”, said Domenico Dolce (right) alongside his co-designer Stefano Gabbana, whose 94-model show on Saturday was their first since September. 

“It’s not a fashion show to do it digitally, between post-production and everything you lose the show. For us, the show is the moment the clothes connect with people and we [also] get a feeling of what people think about the clothes”. 

Kean Etro (left), creative director of Etro menswear, who staged his spring/summer 2022 show at an outside location on Sunday, concurred. “You can record what you want and you can stream it, but to [really] represent yourself, we need to see each other”. 

I can appreciate the sentiments expressed. 

Public speaking is the same too. As a speaker, it is vital to create connection with the audience. And nothing beats being in a real physical setting. With real people.

Fashion Brands Give a Helping Hand

It’s nice to know that big-name fashion brands have stepped forward to give a helping hand in the fight to contain Covid-19. 

Prada, Gucci, COS, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent are among the many labels which produced face masks. 

Additionally, luxury group Kering purchased and imported masks to supply the French health service. 

Likewise, LVMH brought in surgical masks and FFP2 disposable particulate respirators from China to be distributed to medical workers. They even converted their factories, which usually manufacture perfumes under labels such as Givenchy and Guerlain, to the production of hand sanitizer. 

Moncler gave €10 million (£9.2 million) towards the construction of a 200-25-bed hospital in Milan, Italy. 

Mayhoola, the parent company of Valentino and Balmain, chipped in $2 million to the coronavirus effort. 

Giorgio Armani contributed $1.4 million to four of Italy’s busiest hospitals. 

Donatella Versace doled out more than $200,000 to the intensive care unit of Milan’s San Raffaele hospital. 

And Giorgio Armani donated $1.4 million to four of Italy’s busiest hospitals. 

I thought these are really wonderful gestures. 

As a way of saying thanks to these iconic fashion brands, I would like to share this clever commercial parody for a brilliant, but (hopefully) fictional one-of-a-kind luxury item, the Prada Body Bag:

Fashion that’s to die for! Definitely, the most elegant way to make a final impression! 

FYI, this video is by The Kloons, a threesome comprising Mitch Lewis, Greg Washburn and Nik Kazura, who creates comedy sketches for YouTube.