Lego closes stores in Russia, being reopened under name World of Cubes

Robert Besser
04 Oct 2022, 03:45 GMT+10

After Lego exited Russia, 65 of its stores in 20 cities have been rebranded by retail group Inventive Retail Group's as "Mir Kubikov," or "World of Cubes"
Lego is the latest western company to shut down their operations in Russia and have their stores rebranded
In July, Lego announced that it had terminated its contract with IRG, which franchised and operated 81 stores

MOSCOW, Russia: After Danish toy maker Lego exited Russia due to Moscow's February invasion of Ukraine, 65 of its stores in 20 cities have been rebranded by retail group Inventive Retail Group's as "Mir Kubikov," or "World of Cubes."

Lego is the latest western company to shut down their operations in Russia and have their stores rebranded. Former McDonald restaurants reopened as "Vkusno & tochka," or "Tasty and that's it," in June, and Starbucks coffee shops have been rebranded as "Stars Coffee."

In July, Lego announced that it had terminated its contract with IRG, which franchised and operated 81 stores.

In a statement this week, IRG said its new stores would sell official Lego bricks "purchased through parallel imports and other suppliers."

"The new chain will appear in place of certified Lego shops. Lego will remain on the list of brands," it added.

Lego said it was no longer affiliated with IRG and had not shipped products to Russia since March 2022.

In a statement, Lego said, "We have taken steps to increase visibility and control over any potential resale activity by our existing customers outside of Russia, including adding additional clauses to retailers' contracts."

IRG said that several World of Cubes shops have already opened, and the full chain would be up and running by the end of October.

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