The Italian fashion house Brunello Cucinelli is criticized. The company is accused of bypassing EU sanctions against Russia that prohibit the sale of goods worth over 300 euros. In addition, it should undermine the “exclusive positioning of the brand” by a policy of “aggressive discounts”. Behind it is the need to reduce a “overcrowded warehouse” on holdings.
As the Ansa news agency reports, the storm on the stock exchange was triggered by a report by Morpheus Research. The share price of the luxury brand then crashed by 17.3 percent to 85 euros on Thursday. Morpheus Research is a financial investigation company that was founded in 2025. According to his website, the goal is to “uncover misconduct on the financial markets”.
The fashion house, which had presented its collection for spring/summer 2026 last Wednesday during the Milan Fashion Week, now reserves the right to take legal action, according to a message. These are intended to serve the “protection of his reputation and the interests of all of his stakeholders: inside”. The company confirmed “decided to comply with the EU rules”. In addition, it rejected “every hypothesis on the use of the Russian market to reduce the inventory and to reduce remaining stocks”.
The analyst: Inside Morphheus, claimed that the three Russian business of Brunello Cucinelli, contrary to the company’s information, were still open. There would be sold items of clothing worth thousands of euros.
The fashion house would also increase its income through the use of third -party sales channels such as the TSUM luxury department store. These are to be supplied by a system of triangular transactions based on “dubious” Chinese, Lithuanian and Iranian companies. These companies would import the noble cashmere clothing of the Umbrian fashion house and thus bypass the EU sanctions.
According to Morpheus, the “hidden” continuation of the business in Russia would also explain the stability of the balance sheets. Morpheus estimates that exports to Russia rose by 715 percent between 2021 and 2023. This contradicts the task of a market that made nine percent of sales in 2021 and, according to official balance sheets, is only two percent today.
In a message, the Brunello Cucinelli fashion house confirmed the unreserved compliance with the community rules in its activities on the Russian market on Thursday.
“In terms of this morning (September 25th, editor) of some news agencies, we would like to remind you that we decided to keep our local structure unchanged at the beginning of the conflict. We continue to guarantee the full payment of salaries for our employees: Interior and sellers: Inside and comply with our rental contracts, as we have always done in all parts of the world in extraordinary situations.”
The statement also says: “At the request of Endkund: Inside, our staff offers an assistance service in our showroom. The product used is the one that was regularly sent to Russia within the borders set by the European Union, as well as the remaining stock of the inventory, which was delivered before the sanctions were introduced. In this way we are able to generate the necessary funds on site to Cover salaries and rents. ” The company also made it clear that the brands of the brand remain in operation within larger multi-fire structures.
“The reviews carried out by the Italian customs authority have confirmed the complete compliance with the procedures. Likewise, no reports from foreign customs authorities were found to indicate triangular transactions,” emphasized management. It also added that the proportion of the Russian market in sales compared to 2021 fell by more than two thirds and is now around two percent.
In detail, the value of the exports to the Russian subsidiary of the Kashmir brand from 16 million euros in 2021 dropped to five million euros in 2024. This data is available annually in the annual report.
“We believe that these numbers are sufficient to correctly classify this topic and to exclude every hypothesis on the use of the Russian market to reduce the inventory and to reduce residual stocks. The company is examining legal steps to protect its call and the interests of all of its stakeholders: Interior,” concludes the fashion house.
This article was used with digital tools translated.
Fashionunited uses artificial intelligence to accelerate the translation of articles and improve the end result. They help us make the international reporting of fashionunited a German -speaking readership quickly and comprehensively accessible. Articles that have been translated using AI-based tools are read and carefully edited by our editor: Correcting inside before they are published. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me by email to [email protected]