Guess bought out a stake in the Russian business

The American company Guess consolidated 100% of OOO Guess? Siayes, having bought out 30% in the company from entrepreneur Vyacheslav Shikulov. To change data in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities drew the attention of Kommersant.

According to the information from the extract, the changes were made on May 22. 30% went to the European division of the Guess Europe Sagl brand, registered in Switzerland.

Kommersant notes that information about the transaction with Shikulov was disclosed in the Guess report for 2022. The documents say that in 2015 the parties entered into a put option, which implies the right of the Russian partner to realize its 30% in local business and obliges Guess redeem this share by December 31, 2025.

In November last year, the company applied to the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The department approved the deal, since the agreement was concluded even before the imposition of sanctions against Russia. The cost of Shikulov’s share is estimated at 8 million euros (689.5 million rubles at the exchange rate of the Central Bank as of May 25).

Now there are 44 Guess stores in Russia. The report notes that Russia’s special operation in Ukraine did not have a significant impact on the company’s activities in the country. It is clarified that when delivering Guess, it complies with US and EU sanctions regarding the ban on the import of goods into the Russian Federation that cost more than $300 or 300 euros, respectively. At the end of 2022, the revenue of the Russian Guess increased by 24%, to 4 billion rubles, net profit – up to 283.1 million rubles. (3.5 times).

In a conversation with the newspaper, the managing director of Peregrine Capital, Dmitry Gabyshev, called the deal atypical in the current situation. He suggested that in the absence of a put option agreement, Guess would rather be interested in selling the local business to a Russian investor.

Against the backdrop of the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, Western countries have imposed large-scale sanctions against the Russian Federation, which, among other things, affected the banking sector and trade. In this regard, a number of major Western brands have announced their exit from the Russian market, including Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Hugo Boss, Chanel, H&M, Mango, and others.