Temporary manager of French supermarket chain Auchan and former Leroy Merlin retailer Lemana PRO calls for stores and staff to be retained, promises drone protection
L.E.V. Management, the firm granted temporary control of the Russian assets of Auchan and Lemana PRO (formerly Leroy Merlin), has asked the companies’ executives to keep their store chains and staff intact.
In a letter to Auchan cited by RBC, L.E.V. Management CEO Andrei Krayushkin said that “purchasing, deliveries, store operations, and meeting obligations to customers, suppliers, and employees must continue without interruption.” “Auchan LLC’s stable operations are directly tied to food security,” the letter says.
Krayushkin also promised to “implement measures to protect Auchan’s properties from attacks,” including drone attacks. According to the letter, any staffing decisions, if they become necessary, will be “discussed in advance with the current management of Auchan LLC.”
Auchan’s Russian press office said the company was ready to maintain the necessary working relationship with the temporary manager and to “promptly discuss any issues that arise.” All of the company’s facilities are operating normally, the press office said.
On September 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law placing the Russian assets of Auchan, Nestle, Lemana PRO, and FM Logistic — a French logistics operator that worked with those companies — under the temporary control of L.E.V. Management.
Journalists found that L.E.V. Management was registered in October 2024 with registered capital of 15,000 rubles. Krayushkin, who heads the firm, is a major general in Russia’s Interior Ministry and served as first deputy head of its migration directorate from 2016 until at least 2020.
To justify the move, the Kremlin said these are companies from unfriendly countries “that are now actively involved in military operations against our country.”
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