Ufa “June” cut billions of rubles from a fugitive retailer
The retailer was unable to reduce compensation for the early closure of the store.
The owner of the Reserved, Cropp, House, Sinsay and Mohito brands, the Re Trading company, was unable to obtain a review in the Supreme Court of the decision of the Moscow arbitration, according to which the retailer is obliged to pay more than 121 million rubles to the June shopping and entertainment center in Ufa. The lawsuit was filed shortly after the announcement of the Polish LPP about the suspension of activities and the imminent exit from the Russian market. At the end of June 2022, she announced that she had sold the Russian business to a Chinese consortium. He continued to operate stores under the signs of RE, CR, MO, XC and BIN. After their renaming, most of the owners of shopping centers (TCs) withdrew their claims against the company, except for the Samara “Victor and Co” for 438 million rubles. (considered in the appeal) and Alpha Soyuz from Ufa.
According to the latest lawsuit, Re Trading succeeded in lowering the compensation by several times, but the court of cassation overturned this decision. The court referred to the fact that a similar dispute related to the same lease agreement had already been resolved between the parties, says the lawyer of the law firm Rustam Kurmaev and Partners, Yaroslav Shitsle. Both then and now, the retailer unsuccessfully tried to fix the currency corridor of the rental rate at the level of 43 rubles. for u. That is, despite the formula prescribed in the contract, tied to the current dollar and euro rates.
Re Trading has been operating in Russia since 2012. Its brands include Reserved, Cropp, Mohito, House and Sinsay. Far East Services-FZKO (FES Retail) registered in the UAE became the new owner of Re Trading LLC in 2022. Its beneficiaries are unknown. The revenue of Re Trading in 2021 amounted to 52.9 billion rubles, net profit – 6.2 billion rubles. At the end of last year, the company managed 500 outlets in our country, however, FES Retail promised to close about 50 of them.
This year, many retailers are terminating lease agreements and terminating contractual relations with Russian landlords, so it is too early to expect a decrease in the number of disputes with outgoing companies, Schitzle said. He points out that, as a rule, the courts take the side of the landlord and often collect a penalty without reducing it, since both parties are engaged in entrepreneurial activities and the tenant was aware of the consequences of non-performance of the contract.
