The Japanese corporation has decided to leave the Russian Federation after a full-scale invasion.
The company decided to leave Russia after its invasion of Ukraine and was one of the first to support Western sanctions.
The Japanese multinational corporation Sony has finally curtailed its operations in Russia, liquidating its local representative office. Thus, Sony Mobile Communications Rus ceased to exist on August 11. This was reported by The Moscow Times, citing data from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.
A few days before that, it turned 18. Liquidation documents were submitted to the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation on October 10, 2024. In 2023, Sony already tried to close the division, but was refused.
In recent years, the company’s “daughter” has been selling off leftover goods and providing service support for devices.
Sony decided to leave Russia after its invasion of Ukraine and was one of the first to support Western sanctions. In March 2022, the supply of consoles and the operation of the PlayStation Store were stopped. At the same time, the company donated $2 million to help Ukrainians affected by the war through the UN and Save the Children. In the spring, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced the suspension of screenings of its films in Russia.
Later, Sony Music also stopped working, finally exiting the market on September 8, 2022: foreign catalogs were removed from Russian streaming services, and the local division became the independent label Kiss Koala, later renamed Koala Music. In February 2024, Sony began closing its branded stores due to the cessation of supplies, completing the process in the summer.
Before the war, the corporation’s business in Russia was profitable. After the start of the exit procedure, the indicators deteriorated sharply: in 2022, the net loss was 1.43 billion rubles, in 2023 – 530.2 million rubles. However, last year the Russian division again made a profit – 111.7 million rubles, but revenue fell by about 76%, while income came mainly from warranty service and administrative support.
