Reducing Activities: company scaling back some business operations while continuing others
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Leroy Merlin is home improvement and gardening retailer serving several countries in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa. French company, one of the largest European DIY retailers. Founded in 1923, it is part of the Adeo group, which belongs to the "Mulier Family Association".
Reducing Activities: company scaling back some business operations while continuing others
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Global 500Top 100 largest companies in Russia by revenue
Top 100The company entered the Russian market as a subsidiary of Leroy Merlin Vostok in 2004, has the largest network of DIY stores and is the leader in terms of revenue per square meter of retail space. Leroy Merlin Vostok is a system-forming enterprise of the Russian Federation that provides a high revenue part of the budget of the Russian Federation and a significant source of income for the Russian government, by which it supports actions aimed at violent change, the overthrow of the constitutional order, the seizure of state power, changes in the borders of the territory or the state border of Ukraine, encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, thereby undermining democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine, threatening its peace, stability, security, sovereignty and independence. Revenue for 2021 amounted to 456.6 billion rubles, estmated revenue for 2022 is USD 7.7bn. Received revenues in Russia in 2021-2023. Not disclosed reporting data in 2022-2023 of the biggest entity Leroy Merlin Vostok LLC (renamed to LE MONLID LLC after a fake sale). Leroy Merlin is still controlled by the French shareholder through a company incorporated in the UAE. Leroy Merlin is changing its name; the French chain in Russia will now be called Lemana Pro. The company's management plans to complete the rebranding by 2025. In addition to the name, the logo will also change; now it is an image of a house in yellow colors. The French company that owns Leroy Merlin announced in 2023 that it would transfer the Russian brand to local management; later the company also changed the name of the legal entity. 09.07.2024: The secondary legal entity "PRO VOSTOK" LLC was liquidated.
On March 11, 2022 Leroy Merlin announced that it does not plan to reduce its operations in Russia, where it operates 143 stores. On March 17, 2022 they disconnected the Ukrainian office from corporate communications and announced that they would increase deliveries to the Russian Federation. Stopped new investments, imports, and financing in Russia. But the latest video investigation confirms that a French company is supporting Russia's war effort in Ukraine. On March 24, 2023 ADEO announces its intention to transfer control of Leroy Merlin Russia to the local management. The company Scenari Holding, registered in the United Arab Emirates, became the main owner of "Leroy Merlin Vostok", the Russian structure of the chain of stores, according to the data of the EGRUL. 12.2023: The record about the founder of JSC "BRICOLAGE INVESTISSMAN FRANCE" has been deleted from EGRUL. SCENARI HOLDING LP (UAE) becomes the new founder of the organization. 19.12.2023: The status of a legal entity is changed to "The legal entity is in the process of reorganization in the form of joining it with other legal entities." In the course of a detailed investigation, it turned out that the company signed a technical agreement on the alleged sale of the main business in Russia (SCENARI HOLDING LP from the UAE), but the CEO (Defassier Laurent, Louis, Claude) stayed the same since 2019, the company signs new contracts with the group and authorities of the Russian Federation (including the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Internal Affairs), trademarks are extended in Rospatent until 2031. In addition, as the L'Express investigation showed, SCENARI HOLDING LP has the same General Director as in Russia - Laurent Defassier, so the company used a tax optimization scheme, also called layering. Also, most of the imports in 2023 by Leroy Merlin Vostok in Russia was received from ADEO. The French chain of DIY stores Leroy Merlin made a fifth of its sales and a quarter of its profits in Russia last year, according to financial data from its parent company Adeo seen by AFP on Monday, August 12, 2024. In its 2023 consolidated accounts filed with the Lille business court, Adeo said the transfer of control over operational activities was completed fully only at the end of December 2023. However, it said Adeo remains a "passive investor", and that conditions had not been met for it to deconsolidate the operations from its 2023 accounts, including retaining share capital as of the end of the year.