By Tassilo Hommel, Gleb Stolyarov, Polina, Nikolskaya, and David Gauthier Villars
Paris (Reuters) – Nike (NYSE:) stopped selling its sports apparel to Russia shortly after Moscow launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago. But that didn't stop Footballstore.ru, an online sports retailer owned by Russian football club Zenit.
Among the dozens of Nike-branded items offered by the site are the Phantom GT 2 Elite soccer cleats from the American sportswear maker, for 29,999 rubles, or about $330.
The man who brought these shoes to Russia is Wijnand Herinckx, a 40-year-old Dutch citizen who lives in Moscow. Since the conflict began, Hyrinx has built a thriving business supplying Russian consumers with Western goods whose manufacturers have withdrawn from Russia.
“Nike does not want its products to be shipped to Russia,” Herinckes told Reuters in a video call from his office on the outskirts of Moscow, where shelves are stacked with boxes of Western-branded shoes. But he added: “They're also not asking us not to do it.”
Nike and Lego both told Reuters that they did not allow Hyrinx to import their goods into Russia.
By examining customs declarations, corporate records and internal company documents, and by speaking to Herynckes himself, Reuters learned how his company obtains branded goods including Nike and Lego: it uses intermediaries with no apparent connection to Russia as buyers, then ships the goods to Russia. – Mostly via Türkiye – and then finally delivered to retailers in Russia.
There are at least dozens of companies like Hyrinx that use gray market methods to get Western goods into Russia, according to a Reuters analysis of customs data. His process shows how attempts by Western governments and brands to isolate the Russian economy collide with the reality of global business: where there is demand, someone will meet it.
The restrictions imposed by Western governments have focused mostly on industrial products that could be used to make weapons for the Russian war machine. These products are usually subject to US and European Union sanctions. Herinckes said his focus is on consumer goods that are not covered by sanctions. Reuters found no evidence that his company was violating sanctions.
But companies like Hyrinx are helping the Russian economy indirectly: Consumers can still buy the foreign goods they have become accustomed to since the collapse of communism more than a generation ago. Customs data analyzed by Reuters showed, for example, that the value of Nike products imported into Russia fell by 81% in 2022 to $21 million, but rebounded in 2023 to at least $74 million.
The sportswear giant said it did not supply Herinckx or any companies associated with it. “We no longer have any physical or digital retail operations owned by Nike in Russia,” she said in a statement. “We do not ship any product to Russia, nor do we authorize any market partner to distribute the product there.” It also said it has a dedicated team to investigate unauthorized distribution channels. The official spokesman did not respond to questions about how the products reached Russia.
In mid-2022, after Moscow invaded Ukraine, Nike announced it would exit Russia, and Lego said it would close its Russian business.
While global brands halted sales or halted exports due to the invasion, Russia allowed companies to import products from abroad without the permission of the brand owner. Russia said its so-called parallel imports totaled more than $70 billion in the two years until the end of 2023.
Some legal specialists say turning to Russian law would be difficult for Western brands, leaving few other legal options for brands trying to enforce intellectual property rights typically associated with the region where infringement occurred.
The availability of Western brands allows Russian President Vladimir Putin to “send a message that the war does not undermine the ‘normal life’ of the Russian middle class,” said Sergei Guriev, a Russian economist and dean of Sciences Po University in Paris.
'Proud of it'
He said that the Russian company Hyrinx employs 82 employees and expects its revenues in 2024 to reach 35 million euros, or about 37 million dollars. Last year, it amounted to $23.7 million, according to the company’s accounts.
At the time of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Herinckx was working in the Moscow office of a German company, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. According to Hrinks, he ran a team of more than 20 people within Hellman that served foreign companies that wanted to sell in Russia without setting up local operations.
Hellman quickly decided to withdraw from Russia. Herinckx stayed put. Herinx said that he had previously been married to a Russian woman and had children with her. “Our lives are here. Everything we have we built here,” he said.
He acquired one of Hellmann's Russian entities, renamed it Herinckx Trade Solutions Rus (HTS Rus), and registered it in his wife's name in April 2022. Herinckx initially used Hellmann's email servers, and a variation of the Hellmann logo in its marketing.
Both Herinx and Hellman said they have a transitional agreement to allow the Dutchman to use some of his old employer's infrastructure. Hellman said the deal to use her logo ended in October 2022, and that her intellectual property was used without her consent after that. Herinckx said this was a mistake and stopped using Hellmann's logos in January 2024. Hellmann said it now has no connection to Herinckx's business and no operational business in Russia.
Among the goods Herinckx ships to Russia are Reebok sneakers and Emporio Armani wristwatches, according to Herinckx and statements recorded by a Russian bank listing assets pledged by HTS Rus in exchange for a loan.
Herinx said he did not obtain a license from these two brands. The Armani Group said it had halted authorized shipments to Russian distributors and did not know how Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham obtained the products. Reebok owner Authentic Brands Group, which said in 2022 it was halting all brand stores and e-commerce operations in Russia, did not respond to a request for comment.
The Dutch company does not publicly disclose its clients. But Reuters identified some of its Russian clients by reviewing documents the company submitted to Russian tax authorities. Clients included some of Russia's largest supermarket chains and online retailers.
Herinckx said his company is a good corporate citizen and is also involved in philanthropy. When asked why he decided to speak publicly about his operations, he said: “What we do is absolutely amazing, and we are proud of it.”
European road
One of his achievements is the import of Lego bricks. The Danish company said it is strictly implementing its policy of not selling to Russia. When it sells its products to retailers or distributors, it writes in the contract that they may not resell to Russia, according to Herinckx and Lego.
To get around this, Herinx said he introduced a series of intermediaries between Lego and Russia. Some of the Lego bricks he buys were first purchased from the manufacturer by a company in Europe unrelated to his business, he said, declining to name the company. He then buys the bricks from that company, using a Dutch-registered entity he owns called HTS Europe BV, he added.
The goods are then transported by truck directly from Europe to Russia, passing through customs checkpoints on the way, according to Herinckx.
Once in Russia, Lego is under the control of Herinckx's Russian company, HTS Rus, according to loan statements and tax documents. Hyrinx told Reuters that he supplied Lego to about 48 Russian companies, most of which were specialist toy retailers.
“My kids play with Legos,” Herinckx said. “I have nothing against other kids who play with Lego.”
But LEGO faces problems with its process.
After Reuters contacted Lego for comment in late April, the Danish company said it had written to HTS Rus accusing it of falsely claiming on its website that it had cooperated with Lego. Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham subsequently changed the English version of its website, removing an image of Lego characters and replacing them with generic plastic toys for children. The Russian version of the site still has the Lego logo as of June 13.
“We are concerned to learn of this influx of goods given that we stopped shipping LEGO products to Russia in March 2022,” Lego said in a statement to Reuters. “This is an issue we take very seriously and are working to resolve, while ensuring we comply with local laws and regulations as we continue to operate.”
It is transported via Türkiye
Some Western goods come through Türkiye, a preferred hub for gray market imports to Russia. Herinx said he gets Nike products and some Lego products from Turkey, through a company called HTS Poer Dis Ticaret Limited Sirketi, which he said buys the goods from Turkish retailers or distributors. He refused to mention their names.
Murat Erbilger, co-founder of HTS Poer, told Reuters that the Turkish company had nothing to do with the sanctioned products. “We are doing legitimate business,” he added. Erbelger did not answer questions about HTS Poer's relationship with Herinckx Trade Solutions. In response to a question from Reuters about the arrival of gray market goods to Russia via Turkey, the Turkish Presidency’s Communications Department did not respond.
Customs data for the period from June 2022 to December 2023 showed that HTS Poer supplied Russia with at least $4 million worth of Nike products. Herinx told Reuters that as far as he knew, all of those shipments of Nike merchandise were destined for his company.
Once Nike products arrive in Russia, they go to Herinckx's retail customers. Among them is Footballstore.ru, according to tax records and an internal HTS Rus document. Russian corporate records show that the retail site is 100% owned by Zenit Football Club.
Zenit Club is sponsored by Gazprom (MCX:), Russia's state-owned gas company, which is also partly owned by Gazprombank. The lender is subject to US sanctions on the Russian banking sector. Gazprombank, Gazprom and Zenit did not respond to requests for comment.
Reuters purchased the Phantom GT2 Elite Nike football boots from the online retailer. They were delivered 10 days later. Nike did not comment on the shoes.
The shoebox stated the manufacturing date as September 2022, three months after Nike announced it would stop selling in Russia. It also carries a label identifying Herinckx's company HTS Rus as the importer.