Russia’s postal service has launched deliveries of European fashion brands like Zara and H&M that have exited or reduced their presence in Russia this year over the war in Ukraine, the state-run TASS news agency reported Tuesday.
Shipping companies in Russia have been exploring workarounds after hundreds of Western companies withdrew from the Russian market in response to the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
State-owned Russian Post said it partnered with Hong Kong-registered Pochta Global as an intermediary that places orders for Russian users who sign up on its platform, according to TASS.
Customers have the option of paying for their orders with either Russian or foreign bank cards.
Pochta Global launched this summer, billing itself as a service for Russian bargain hunters on eBay and Amazon with pickup points across 38,000 Russian Post offices in 14,000 Russian towns and cities.
The service is now available to fans of Italian, Spanish and French fashion retailers starting Tuesday.
“The service gives Russian customers access to the largest stores and marketplaces, including Farfetch, Yoox, Asos, Net-a-Porter, Mytheresa and the European websites of Zara, H&M, COS, Adidas, Nike, Hugo Boss and other brands,” the Russian Post said.
Pochta Global-operated warehouses in Germany or the United States promise delivery times of at least 14 days, with orders stored for up to 90 days in Berlin and U.S. cities.
Experts interviewed by the Kommersant business daily said they do not expect intermediary services to take off due to difficulties with payments and deliveries.
