Poland's largest retailer Biedronka will stop selling products manufactured by companies registered in Russia and Belarus, joining a growing number of Polish companies in protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
'This decision is dictated by opposition to the unprecedented aggression against independent Ukraine and applies to a total of 16 products,' said Biedronka, which is owned by Portugal's Jerónimo Martins.
This means that the retailer will no longer sell Russian vodkas such as Beluga, Russian Standard and Żurawie, pine nuts under the BAKAD'OR brand, among others.
The retailer will also reduce bread prices by up to 60% and offer a 30% discount on 50 basic items in Biedronka stores located on the Polish-Ukrainian border, to support refugees and workers from Ukraine.
A similar decision has been taken by the Polish arm of French retail group, Carrefour.
'Withdraw All Products From Russia And Belarus'
'Taking into account the hostilities in Ukraine, Carrefour Polska decided to withdraw all products from Russia and Belarus from sale in its stores. The chain also does not intend to place new orders for Russian and Belarusian products,' the company said in a statement quoted by website wirtualnemedia.pl.
Other companies also joined the ban, including convenience store chain Zabka, the country's largest drugstore chain Rossmann, which said it removed over 150 products from its shelves, and Inpost, an operator of automated parcel lockers (APMs).
"The management board of Inpost made the difficult but necessary decision not to buy services/goods from Russian and Belarusian companies, but also from companies whose shareholding includes capital from these countries," Rafal Brzoska, CEO of InPost, wrote on Twitter.
Read More: More European Retailers Stop Buying Russian Products In Response To Ukraine Invasion
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM – your source for the latest Retail news. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.