Some of the world's leading luxury brands plan to temporarily close stores and pause business operations in Russia.

These include Birkin bag maker Hermes and Cartier owner Richemont were the first firms to announce such moves, followed by LVMH, Kering and Chanel. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made doing business in Russia complicated as United States, Britain and European Union have imposed sanctions on the country.

French luxury giant Chanel has decided to temporarily pause its business in Russia while LVMH, which owns such brands as Christian Dior, Givenchy, Kenzo, TAG Heuer and Bulgari among others, will close its 124 boutiques in Russia but will continue to pay the salaries for its 3,500 employees in the countryrs.

French multinational Kering, whose brands include brands as Gucci, Saint Laurent, BottegaVeneta and Boucheron among others, has two shops and 180 employees, which the company will continue to support.

While affluent Russians are keen consumers of luxury goods, analysts say the proportion of luxury sales generated from Russian nationals is small compared to the industry's main growth engines, China and the United States.

Richemont, which also owns Dunhill, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc, Piaget, and Van Cleef&Arpels among other brands, suspended commercial activities in Russia on March 3 after stopping Ukraine operations on February 24, the day Russia launched its invasion.

Russia accounts for around $9 billion in annual luxury sales, which is around 6 per cent of Chinese spending and 14 per cent of US spending on luxury goods, as per Investment bank Jefferies

Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group, which owns high end watches and jewellery labels including Harry Winston, has deferred exports from Russia due to the challenging situation"

L'Oreal, LVMH and Kering have all pledged financial support to help Ukrainian refugees and Richemont is initiating a significant donation to Medecins Sans Frontieres.