Samsung Union Confirms 18-Day Strike After Failed Wage Talks 
World Bank Emergency Funding Demand Surges as 27 Countries Seek Crisis Support Amid Iran Conflict 
Asian Stocks Rally as Nvidia Earnings Boost Tech Shares, Samsung Jumps on Wage Deal 
SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO 
H.B. Fuller Eyes Advanced Medical Solutions in Potential £600M Takeover Deal 
Gold Prices Slip as Iran Conflict and Fed Rate Hike Fears Weigh on Market Sentiment 
Oil Prices Climb as Trump Warns of Possible U.S. Strike on Iran 
ECB Warns Euro Zone Inflation Will Keep Rising Despite Strait of Hormuz Reopening 
Japan Manufacturing Growth Slows in May as Services Sector Stagnates Amid Rising Middle East Supply Costs 
JPMorgan Sees Large-Cap Biotech Stocks Entering New Growth Phase in 2026 
Anthropic Revenue Surge Signals Strong AI Market Momentum in 2026 
Wall Street Rebounds as U.S.-Iran Peace Deal Hopes Lift Markets and Ease Oil Prices 
Lam Research Expands AI-Powered Semiconductor Tools and Arizona Operations 
Goldman Sachs to Pay $500M in 1MDB Shareholder Fraud Settlement 
ECB Signals Possible Rate Hike as Middle East Tensions Push Euro Zone Inflation Higher 
Fed Signals Possible Rate Hikes if Inflation Remains High in 2026 
Trump-China Summit Yields Limited Progress on Trade and Tech Cooperation 
Lego, the maker of plastic construction toys headquartered in Denmark, has terminated its franchise contract with a local store operator in Russia as it announced it would be shutting its business there.
According to CNN Business, the company is withdrawing its business in the country, and with this decision, around 90 employees in Moscow are set to lose their jobs. Lego cited "extensive disruption" in the region as the reason for this move.
The Danish toymaker already canceled its deal with the Inventive Retail Group (IRG), which is the local franchisee of the Lego toys. When the contract is still active, the company owns and runs 81 store outlets in the country.
IRG confirmed this week that its agreement with Lego has been cut short. It was learned that it was also the Russian franchisee of the Samsung and Nike brands.
On the other hand, despite the contract termination with Lego, IRG said that it still has plans to continue its business in the toy design and development category. However, it was not mentioned if it will forge a new deal with another company for this or if it will produce its own brand of toys.
The toy company already halted all shipments to Russia in March, and in June, it temporarily closed some stores due to supply issues. Now, Lego will stop all commercial activities in the country for an indefinite time only, although its deal with IRG was cut already.
"Given the ongoing significant disruptions to the operating environment, we have taken the decision to stop commercial activity in Russia indefinitely," Lego Russia's chief executive officer, Evgeny Chikhachev, said. "This includes terminating the work of a large portion of our Moscow team and our partnership with Inventive Retail Group."
Reuters reported that breaking off its contract with IRG may possibly be a signal that its operations in Russia have ended for good, but this is not confirmed.
Meanwhile, some of the well-known major US and UK brands are still operating in Russia amid the withdrawals of many companies. The main reason why they cannot retract their businesses is that they cannot force independent local franchise operators to shut down.
