From video games to luxury watches, Zara is the latest in a long list of multinational companies to withdraw from Russia

Russia became increasingly isolated after the invasion of Ukraine. Politically, but also increasingly economically: many companies are withdrawing from the country. Many Russians are now rushing to those western stores because they fear the ruble will crash further and more stores will close.

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Inditex, the parent company of Zara, announced on Saturday that it is already temporarily withdrawing from Russia. But earlier, Apple, Asos, Boohoo, Burberry, Electronic Arts, Hermes, H&M, Ikea, JD Sports, Gucci, LVMH, Marks & Spencer, Mango, Nike, Cartier, Swatch and Under Armor made similar decisions. Some close all stores, others simply no longer carry new items.

In the meantime, all kinds of insults are being thrown at companies that are still active in Russia on social media. For example, the hashtags #BoycottMcDonalds and #BoycottCocaCola are trending on Twitter. For many companies, the decision to suspend activities in Russia is not an obvious one. For example, last year McDonald’s got 9% of its revenue from Russia and Ukraine. Inditex also anticipates that it will lose a significant portion of its sales as a result of this decision.