Russia adds IKEA, Lancome and other luxury goods to parallel import list

MOSCOW, March 13 (Reuters) – Russia’s Industry Ministry said on Monday it was expanding its list of brands that can be imported without the owner’s permission to include products from companies like IKEA and toy makers Americans Hasbro and Mattel.

Moscow has pushed for a so-called “parallel import” system to help Russian consumers retain access to a range of foreign goods in the face of harsh Western sanctions over the Ukraine dispute.

The mechanism allows Russian companies to buy products from any company outside of Russia, even from the country of origin of the products, as long as they were purchased legally.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce’s expanded list includes luxury brands such as Lancôme, Giorgio Armani and Yves Saint Laurent, household goods brands Wahl and Zanussi, and Japan’s Nintendo. Motor oil brands and farm equipment manufacturers have also been added.

The updated list was first reported by Izvestia newspaper, which said IKEA would be added around summer.

“Izvestia has the correct list and is in the process of registering with the Ministry of Justice,” the ministry said in a statement.

Many big-brand products that pulled out of Russia remain available as parallel import mechanisms were consolidated and extended last year, demonstrating how difficult it is for companies to control supply chains as they leave a market.

The ministry said it was working to fine-tune the mechanism, moving from including brand names to rights holders, a move it said would simplify the administrative process.

(Information from Reuters; Edited in Spanish by Benjamin Mejías Valencia)