Heineken apologizes for increasing its activities in Russia despite the war

the dutch brewery Heineken asks “excuse me” after the controversy generated around its Russian division, which launched new products in the last year despite the war in Ukraine, and assured that it maintains its “promise to leave Russia” when closing a deal with a new owner before the summer.

“Recently, there has been a lot of talk about our promise to leave Russia. We’re sorry that reporting this has raised questions and concerns about our intentions. But we do not recognize ourselves in the negative image that has been painted. There is no ambiguity about our promise: we will leave Russia”, the company pointed out on its website.

In addition, he admitted that as a company there should be “been clearer about the need to introduce new products” and considered that “the questions raised about it are understandable”. The company did withdraw the Heineken brand from the Russian market, but replaced it with new products such as variants of Amstel.

“We realize that this has created ambiguity and doubt about our promise to leave Russia. We apologize for this”, he added.

journalistic investigative platform Follow the Money (FTM) denounced last month that Heineken continues to invest in Russia, where it increased its business after the withdrawal of brands such as Budweiser and carlsbergand launched at least 61 new products over the past year, despite its promises that it will leave that country because of the Russian invasion.

FTM also noted that the brewer introduced non-alcoholic soft drinks to the Russian market after the withdrawal of Coca Cola and Pepsi products.

Heinekenwhich explained in a statement the developments surrounding the company’s activities in Russia, now assures that it is “working hard to sell the business” what do you have in Russia and stressed that his goal is to reach an agreement with a new owner “in the first half of 2023.”

In addition, he justified that he has not come directly from Russia as other companies have done for “secure future livelihood” of its almost 1,800 employees in that country, who would suffer the consequences of a sudden suspension or halt of Heineken’s activities because “the business will go bankrupt quickly” and workers will lose their income.

“It is difficult to sell a business that generates losses, and we would deprive them of the opportunity for future employment. At the same time, ‘intentional bankruptcy’ is a criminal offense in Russia and carries a risk of prosecution and/or nationalization, which we want to avoid”, explained the company from its headquarters in the Netherlands.

Heineken has been in Russia for twenty years and the Russian business represents around 2% of its global sales.

Source: EFE