MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian e-commerce firm Ozon said on Thursday it had started selling goods through a parallel imports mechanism on its platform, benefiting from legislation Russia has brought in to try to limit the impact of Western sanctions.
Hit by unprecedented sanctions and supply chain issues, Russia has legalised so-called parallel imports, which allow retailers to import products from abroad without the trademark owner’s permission.
“Goods imported with the help of parallel imports are available on Ozon,” the company told Reuters. “We have already started selling popular electronics brands on Ozon, including smartphones and their components.”
Ozon said parallel imports gave Russian consumers a range of products but said it was working to prevent counterfeit items appearing on its platform, requiring sellers to confirm the proof of originality of the goods they sell.
Ozon said it would not disclose the names of brands.
The pace of Western companies leaving Russia over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine is accelerating, with Nike and Cisco both announcing plans to exit on Thursday. They have joined McDonald’s, Renault and others.
Foreign companies seeking to exit Russia over Ukraine face the prospect of new laws being passed in coming weeks allowing Moscow to seize assets and impose criminal penalties.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Edmund Blair)
