Yandex buys up remaining IKEA Russia inventory

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Yandex Market, owned by Russian internet giant Yandex, said on Friday it had agreed to buy up the remaining inventory of Swedish furniture giant IKEA, which has closed its shops in Russia.

Yandex signed binding documents on Nov. 16 to buy more than 20 million IKEA products, from furniture to stuffed toys, left over from the final online sale this summer, it said, adding that it will start selling the items before the end of the year.

Yandex will sell the products in a section of its online marketplace designated 'IKEA goods', which combines items from production sites in Russia which used to supply IKEA, shop inventory and IKEA goods brought from overseas.

IKEA decided to close its shops in Russia after Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in February in what it said was a 'special military operation'. Many other western companies - from energy producers to food and clothing chains - have left Russia.

Main franchisee Ingka, which owns most IKEA stores, including those in Russia, said last month it had not decided whether to sell its IKEA stores in Russia, which generated around 4% of its group sales in 2021.

Its shopping malls in the country remain open.

(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov, Editing by Louise Heavens)