‘No! Your heart is really dry Tadashi Yanai. '
Asian retail giant Fast Retailing Co. and parent company Uniqlo will continue their operations in Russia despite various other big brands imposing sanctions against Russia over the aggressive actions of the Vladimir Putin government in attacking Ukraine.
Uniqlo Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tadashi Yanai in a statement said that although he opposed and criticized Russia's actions, the Russians were entitled to clothing necessities, so all 50 Uniqlo stores would continue to operate in the country.
The move is seen as contrary to other big world brands imposing sanctions on Russia.
In addition, Yanai was seen questioning the trend that urged companies to make political choices, where in April he declined to comment on the issue of cotton from China's Xinjiang province and a month earlier the United States had blocked shipments of Uniqlo shirts over concerns over forced labor practices. .
Uniqlo has also been investigated by the French government and several other fashion brands.
It is common knowledge that Russia is now receiving strong opposition and sanctions by many other countries thus triggering trade sanctions and financial penalties.
Among them, Apple Inc and Nike Inc which closed their stores and carmakers BMW AG as well as General Motors Co. suspended shipments of vehicles to Moscow.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government is essentially following the US and other European countries in imposing sanctions on Russia such as freezing the assets of the Russian oligarchs as well as its financial institution, the Russian Central Bank.
Still, Japanese companies are under pressure from the move, with Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co saying they stopped shipments of vehicles to Russia but business lobbies warned trading giants Mitsubishi Corp and Mitsui & Co not to rush out of Russian oil and gas projects.
