Harrods sold expensive Russian vodka “under the counter” after pulling stock from shelves.
Last week the upmarket department store in Knightsbridge removed Beluga vodka from display amid pressure on retailers to stop selling Russian products following President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It replaced the drink with alternative vodkas from other countries including Poland, Ukraine and Belgium.
However, it emerged today that staff sold the vodka, which retails at £100 for 1.5 litres, from behind their kiosk where the bottles were stored. The retailer says it was a “mistake” and the vodka has now been removed from the site.
The upmarket Beluga brand has largely disappeared from shelves across the UK, with Waitrose and Harvey Nichols among the retailers to stop selling it. However, the product is still being sold openly in Selfridges on Oxford Street.
Yesterday in parliament, the Labour MP Chris Bryant, who is chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on Russia, condemned shops still selling Russian products or operating in Russia.
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Addressing the Commons, Bryant said: “Can I ask for a debate on those who are not really pulling their weight in delivering sanctions on Russia over Ukraine?
“Because lots of shops in the UK have now withdrawn Russian products from their shelves, but if you still want to buy a £150 bottle of Beluga vodka, for instance, you just go to Selfridges — it’s on the shelves; if you go to Harrods, you actually have to ask for it and it’s underneath the counter, literally underneath the counter.”
He added: “Also there are British companies who are still doing business in Russia, like Subway and Pirelli and Baker Tilly, who provide advice on how to hide your money. Isn’t it time that everybody pulled their weight, because that’s the only way we can make Putin fail?”
In a statement, Harrods, which is owned by the sovereign wealth fund of the state of Qatar, said: “Over a week ago we removed products 100 per cent sourced from Russia from the shelves of Harrods. This decision was taken alongside other steps such as changing the name of chicken kiev to chicken kyiv in our Food Hall, and halting deliveries to Russia.
“While Beluga vodka was removed from sale, remaining stock was held in storage ahead of being moved off-site. After an inquiry by a customer, it was mistakenly brought out of stock and given to the customer. This was an error and should not have happened. All remaining stock has now been moved to an off-site location and is not available for sale”
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A spokesman for Subway said: “Subway has no corporate operations in Russia. There are approximately 450 franchised restaurants in Russia which are all independently owned and operated by local franchisees and managed by an independent master franchisee.
“We don’t directly control these independent franchisees and their restaurants, and have limited insight into their day-to-day operations.
“While we do not control or manage the operations of independent franchisees in Russia, we will redirect any profits from operations in Russia to humanitarian efforts supporting Ukrainians who have been affected by the war. We are also working with our franchisees across Europe to provide meals to refugees.”
The companies mentioned by Bryant have been approached for comment.
