Benetton Turkey Cancels Sokhumi Store Plans

Turkish arm of Italian clothing retailer Benetton has revoked plans to open a store in Sokhumi, capital of breakaway Abkhazia, Turkish newspaper, Hurriyet, reported.

The plans have triggered Tbilisi’s protest as the move was viewed as a violation of Georgia’s law on occupied territories. The Georgian Foreign Ministry summoned Turkish ambassador in Tbilisi over the matter on May 25.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry summoned Turkish ambassador after news broke that a was opening a shop in breakaway Abkhaz capital Sokhumi.

“When Benetton decided to open a store, acting upon the demand in Abkhazia, it operated in accordance to national and international law. This purely commercial decision had no intention to offend any party,” the Hurriyet quoted the company’s written statement.

The company said that it decided to cancel initial plans about opening store in Sokhumi “despite not having received any warning from any official institution.” Benetton Turkey also said that turnover of its business in eight stores in Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi was EUR 2 million.

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