Unilever Pulls Out Of Russia, Transfers Ownership Of Operations To Local Manufacturer

According to Reuters, Unilever has sold its operations in Russia to the Arnest Group, a regional producer. All of Unilever's operations as well as its four Russian facilities have been sold. Furthermore, it has also sold the company in Belarus.

The research states that Arnest Group produces cosmetics, household goods, and fragrances. In 2022, Arnest paid $530 million to acquire the beverage packaging division of Ball Corp. and the Russian assets of Oriflame, a Swedish cosmetics company.

Notably, the business's sale value has not yet been revealed by the corporation. According to the report, Unilever is anticipated to release its third-quarter financial results on October 24.

The RBC Business Daily revealed last month that Unilever had received permission from the Russian government to sell assets valued between $359.5 and $410.9 million, or 35–40 billion roubles.

In response to years of underperformance at Unilever, Hein Schumacher, in his first year as CEO, has announced intentions to exit the ice cream sector, undertake layoffs that might impact up to 7,500 workers, and focus on 30 core brands. Hein Schumacher, CEO of Unilever, said, "This work has been very complex. It has involved separating IT platforms and supply chains, as well as migrating brands to Cyrillic."