More than two and a half years after the invasion of Ukraine, the French retailing group Auchan seems close to exiting Russia. According to an article published on Thursday, October 24, by online news outlet La Lettre, the group owned by the Mulliez family has "entered the final phase of negotiations with a local player" to sell its Russian subsidiary, without specifying the name of the buyer.

Le Monde has learned this potential buyer could be Gazprombank. The banking subsidiary of the Russian giant, the Kremlin's gas arm, had already taken over shopping centers from Ingka Group (Ikea) in September 2023, where some of Auchan's Russian stores are located. This subsidiary is subject to limited sanctions, yet is close to the government. One of the difficulties for Western groups wishing to divest from Russia is finding a buyer endorsed by the Kremlin, at the risk if this is not the case of having their assets confiscated by the authorities as Danone and Carlsberg have experienced. Contacted, Auchan did not respond to Le Monde's questions.

If the sale goes ahead, it would mark a major shift in the international strategy of ELO, the company that oversees the retailer's commercial, banking and real estate activities. Russia, where the group has been operating since 2002, is the country where Auchan has the most stores, after France. On June 30, Auchan operated 94 hypermarkets (out of a total of 494) and 137 supermarkets (out of 771), generating just under 10% of its sales and employing almost 25,000 people. New Immo Holding, the Group's real estate arm, owns 130 of these outlets.

Since the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin's troops on February 24, 2022, Auchan has been careful in its communications to equate Ukraine – where it operates some 40 outlets – with Russia, declaring that it has "chosen to pursue its activities in these two countries, despite the difficulties, in order to continue to fully carry out its mission of providing the local population with quality food at the fairest price."

The group has insisted that it is "scrupulously monitoring compliance with the sanctions," and in particular that it has halted all financing and investment in its Russian subsidiary, which operates "in complete autonomy." Even so, the image risk is high. In February 2023, the retailer was accused of delivering goods free of charge to the Russian army, according to documents obtained by Christo Grozev, former executive director of the NGO Bellingcat, and by Le Monde. "We do not carry out, support or finance any 'charitable' collections for the armed forces," Auchan said at the time.

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