Fashion giants Lacoste and Hugo Boss’ Russian shame

Lacoste and Hugo Boss have come under fire for selling their products in Russia.

The Moral Rating Agency (MRA), which monitors the activity of firms in Russia, accused Lacoste’s Swiss parent MF Brands of ‘double-talk’ after it claimed it had disassociated from its products made in Russia, and they were handled by an ‘independent partner’.

But the MRA said Lode LLC, a Russian corporation that operates the business in the country, is owned by French firm Devanlay – controlled by MF Brands.

Hugo Boss was blasted after German newspaper Die Zeit revealed it earned around £60m in sales from Russia in 2022.

A Hugo Boss spokesman said: ‘We are currently reviewing how we will handle our Russian business in the long term.’