Will leave, won’t leave? The question does not concern the transfer of Mbappé to Real Madrid, but certain French companies established in Russia. The country is experiencing a massive exodus following the invasion of Ukraine, with many large international firms packing far from Moscow (McDonald’s, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, LVMH, Hermès, Chanel, Land Rover and Volvo, among others ). Ukrainian diplomats have repeatedly urged companies still present there to follow this example, calling in particular on the French to boycott Auchan supermarkets.
But for the moment there is no question for the Mulliez group (Auchan, Decathlon, Leroy-Merlin) of losing Russia and its profitable market share. Maintained in Moscow, these brands are also very popular in their country of origin, Decathlon having been elected for the past three years as the favorite brand of the French. Can this refusal to leave a country that has become an opponent harm the brand image and turnover of these groups?
Unethical purchases in France
“The French are not very politicized in their purchase”, immediately notes Elisabeth Tissier-Desbordes, professor of economics at ESCP and specialist in consumer behavior. The speaker continues: “Apart from militants and activists, the population dissociates the opinion they may have of a brand from the purchase of its products. McDonald’s or Amazon are good examples of this phenomenon. All the more so in this period of economic insecurity, adds the expert, where the price is much more important than convictions.
“When we go to Auchan or Leroy-Merlin, we don’t think of Ukrainians”, says Isabelle Andernack, professor at the Burgundy School Of Business in the accounting department. For her, an important boycott could have taken place in the event of a direct link with the war. For example if they were companies selling weapons or equipment to the Russians – which is far from the case. “The products sold at Auchan and Leroy-Merlin are essential. You can boycott LVMH to clear your conscience, more difficult your usual supermarket, ”adds the accounting expert. Elisabeth Tissier-Desbordes drives the point home: “The French have never boycotted a brand, even a foreign one. So a national flagship…”
win the war
Cracks may still appear. “Sales will probably be impacted for a quarter or two, but sulks like this never last very long,” says Marcel Botton, founder and deputy managing director of the Nomen publicity marketing agency. He reminds us: brands as historic as Coca-Cola or Perrier have also suffered calls for a boycott following scandals, without this ultimately impacting their turnover. Proof of this ability to ignore, this expert has even forgotten the scandals in question for the two brands of drink. “A boycott is like a vaccine: without a booster shot, it quickly loses its effectiveness,” metaphorizes Marcel Botton.
The question is therefore in particular to know who will win the communication war between Ukraine and Russia in the eyes of French opinion. Quality versus quantity, according to the expert: “The Ukrainians have much better communication, but the Russians have a much greater strike force on social networks, which could tip the scales in the long term”. A poll from March 2022 showed that 73% of French people were pro-Ukrainian, and only 3% pro-Russian.
Economics before empathy
If such a rejection of Russia is prolonged, significant financial losses could occur for the groups in question. But the risk is limited. “Emotion always ends up fading,” pleads Isabelle Andernack. Unless she comes back with other buzz, positive or negative. Decathlon is currently in the eye of the storm because of the war in Ukraine, but who remembers that two years ago almost to the day, the brand offered its diving masks to caregivers to protect them from the coronavirus? It is thus with the buzz, they pass and follow one another. “The Mulliez group can hope that a future event will cause us to forget this position on Russia”, notes Marcel Botton. For Isabelle Andernack, the group can even seek to create its own positive buzz, for example with food distribution via Auchan.
Despite the massive support of the French population for the Ukrainians, Marcel Botton thinks that the loss of turnover in France for these brands will only be 10 or 15% maximum, for only a few months at most. A low impact which almost alone justifies staying, like the Isabelle Andernack figure: “Mulliez has much more to lose from leaving than staying. The Russian market represents 10% of Auchan’s turnover, and 18% of Leroy-Merlin. These stores have been established in Russia for eighteen years. They are not going to change everything for a geopolitical event”.
And no matter if their image tarnishes for a few weeks, time should do its work, concludes Marcel Botton: “We forget the controversies and bad communications. Not the brands. »