Collections of brands such as Zara, Bershka, Pull & Bear and Stradivarius will be available to Russian customers, but in other stores and not in full assortment.
The Lebanese company Daher has completed a deal to acquire Inditex, one of the world's largest clothing distributors, RIA Novosti reported. The Russian stores are likely to operate under the name New Fashion.
The Russian division could be sold for 12 billion rubles, while Russian experts believe this price is understated by about 1.5 times, because sales of businesses of foreign owners in Russia are discounted by up to 70%.
Earlier it was reported that the deal stipulates the transfer of the bigger part of leasing contracts, connected with stores in RF, to counterparts, having interests in the trade sphere.
At the beginning of the year Inditex had about 500 stores in Russia, where more than 9 thousand people worked.
With the arrival of the new owner the main personnel of the stores, salespeople, storekeepers and longshoremen will keep their jobs. Experts estimate that about 30% of middle and senior managers will quit or be laid off.
Also market analysts predict an increase in the cost of clothing Zara and similar brands at 20-30%. This is due, among other things, to global inflation, rising prices of fabric and consumables.