Lithuania's Audimas says its brands used in Russia without authorization

VILNIUS – Lithuania's leisure and sportswear producer Audimas has no business or assets in Russia, and its brands are used in Moscow stores without authorization, Lina Slegeriene, the company's CEO, said on Thursday.

"Audimas has no assets or business in Russia. We halted exports to Russia in the first days of (Russia's) war (in Ukraine). We stopped production in our factory in Belarus," Slegeriene told a news conference. 

"Stores in Moscow, to our knowledge, are operating and using our trademark without any authorization, which means illegally," she added.

Photos taken by the company's lawyers show that Audimas-branded stores in the Russian capital are selling items from its 2015-2017 collections with old logos, according to the CEO. 

"We hired lawyers to take photos for us. From the photos we have received, we can see that these are old (collections)," she said

In Slegeriene's words, Audimas ceased operations in Russia in 2017, and its products were supplied to stores in Moscow by a single wholesaler until 2022. 

The last time Audimas' products were delivered to Russia was in December 2021, she said.