Why this coffee giant is staying put in Russia

livemint.com:

doing business in Russia. Many companies are tight-lipped, limiting what they say to short, prewritten statements. Executives say they fear asset seizures or other retaliation by the Russian government, or a backlash from shoppers.

Russia has long been a key market for JDE Peet’s, the world’s second-largest packaged-coffee maker after Nestlé, generating some 5% of its revenue before the war. The company, whose other brands include Douwe Egberts, Senseo and Tassimo, sells coffee and tea in grocery stores in Russia but doesn’t operate cafes there. Simon gave three reasons why the company has no intention of leaving Russia.

First, he said coffee and tea are essential products—similar to bread, eggs or milk—in that they are affordable and “sustain health or life." Second, JDE Peet’s has 900 employees in Russia who he says would be unfairly punished if it left. And third, Simon said that if the company were to leave Russia, its brands and intellectual property would likely be seized and given to a third party. “We might not have said what people wanted to hear at the beginning, but we are taking a very authentic and honest approach," Simon said.

The business complies with all sanctions imposed on Russia because of the invasion, he added. JDE Peet’s position on Russia has drawn criticism from some of its own employees, particularly those in Ukraine. Consumers in Ukraine, Poland, Romania and other countries have also objected to its decision to stay in Russia, Simon said.

Dutch lawmakers earlier this year demanded to know why JDE Peet’s was still selling in Russia, asking Simon at a parliamentary hearing why the company hadn’t followed Starbucks in exiting from the country. Simon said at the time that the U.S. chain’s drinks