11.11.05
RUSSIA: A $227 million lawsuit was filed against L’Oréal by Swiss company Temtrade, L’Oréal’s distributor in the Soviet Union and Russia from 1975-1999. Temtrade claimed L’Oréal knowingly violated its exclusive distribution agreement at a cost of nearly $250 million in profits. Sabina Tchelnokova, a spokesperson for Temtrade, said two former L’Oréal executives used “dubious Russian structures” to supply the “gray market” with cosmetics for personal gain.