Dan Murphy’s Is Removing Russian Alcohol From Stores
Russian products will be taken off shelves and online stores following calls from Ukrainian business groups.
Dan Murphy’s and BWS have announced they will remove Russian products from their stores, following calls made by Ukrainian business groups in Australia.
The decision, made by parent company Endeavour Group, will see products such as Russian Standard vodka removed from retail shops and online stores across the country. A spokesperson says that the boycott comes after feedback from “a variety of stakeholders.”
“As an organisation, Endeavour Group is deeply concerned with the situation in Ukraine and we join the calls for peace,” a spokesperson told the ABC.
A spokesperson additionally told Junkee that a total of 47 products of Russian origin had been identified for removal, and that impacted suppliers had been All impacted suppliers have been “engaged with and advised of our decision”.
“We will continue to monitor and review the situation, and work with our suppliers throughout this process.” the spokesperson said.
Vice President of the Ukrainian World Congress Stefan Romaniw told Junkee that “any message” speaking out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is important at the moment. “Some people say this is a small step, but there are a lot of those small steps that are making big steps internationally to let Putin know that the world is not with him and totally against what he is doing,” Romaniw said.
It is unclear whether rival supermarket giant Coles will join the boycott — its alcohol retailers, Liquorland and Vintage Cellars, have made no public comments at the time of writing.
The boycott comes as Australia investment companies divest their shares away from Russian financial institutions, including a wealth fund operated by Peter Costello with $200 million on the Russian Stock exchange, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.
The Australian government announced yesterday that it would ramp up sanctions against Russia, including the removal of Russian banks from the SWIFT global payments system, and the creation of a trans-Atlantic task to “identify and freeze the assets of sanctioned individuals and companies that exist within their jurisdictions.”