Zara stores to open in Russia under new name

More than 200 stores of the Inditex group (the owner of Zara, Pull&Bear and other chains) that left Russia under the names Maag, Dub, Ecru, Vilet will open in Russia in May, Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Viktor Evtukhov said.

"All of the stores are ready to open - there are currently over 200 of them. The formal opening is scheduled for May," he said. "Inditex had roughly 1.5 times the number of stores, but the new owners say that if sales are satisfactory, they will inevitably expand their network," RIA Novosti cited him as saying.

One of the major conditions of the agreement, according to Evtukhov, is the preservation of jobs. "The group currently employs 4,200 people," he added. "Representatives of the new owner confirmed that they are keeping the number of employees and are now beginning to recruit new specialists and will most likely increase their staff," he added.