Unilever has transferred the rights to Ax and Domestos to its Russian subsidiary, which is preparing for sale.

On September 11, Rospatent registered a sublicensing agreement under which Unilever transferred 91 trademarks, including 22 international ones, for use in Russia. Among the mentioned trademarks are the English-language Ax Africa, Ax Anti-Hangover, Ax Black Night, Ax Excite, Cif, Domestos, Timotei, international Ax You, Cif, protected packaging images and others. The non-exclusive rights of the Russian Unilever Rus LLC to the trademarks are set for a period until April 1, 2025.

Also on September 23, Rospatent registered the transfer under an exclusive sublicense of the rights to 46 trademarks, including the international Mint Freeze. The license will be valid until the end of 2027.

Among the signs are the Russified names “Hacha”, “Hacha Effect”, “Sif”, “Domestos”, “Rexona”, “Rexona Man”, “Sansilk”, “Timotei”, “Timotey”, “Dove”. The rights to Dove (the international brand Dove), Pink Storm and Shift have been partially transferred.

British Unilever will sell its division to Unilever Rus LLC, “which owns the company’s brands,” RBC reported. Kommersant named Alexei Sagal’s Arnest Group as the buyer. Unilever is actively preparing to sell its business in Russia; it has received permission to do so from the Russian FAS and a subcommittee of the government commission for foreign investment control.

Unilever Rus has already registered the Magnat and Inmarko ice cream brands, as well as the Russian cosmetics brands Clean Line, Velvet Hands, Black Pearl and others. Most of the international brands promoted in Russia were managed by Unilever itself; it registered them with Rospatent in its own name. In 2024, the company began to Russify names in order to be able to produce them in Russia, thus appearing the brands Domestos, Sif, Dove, Reksona, Aks and others.

In spring 2022, Unilever suspended exports of its products to and imports from the Russian Federation, and investments in the country, as well as spending on media and advertising, were halted.