Cisco Systems Inc. Chief Financial Officer Scott Herren on Wednesday described his frustration with so-called gray markets that have reportedly shipped the company’s tech gear into Russia despite the networking giant’s exit from the country. In gray markets, products are purchased outside of a manufacturer’s authorized distribution channels. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Cisco
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hardware has entered Russia via a network of vendors in areas such as Turkey and Asia that have not been authorized by Cisco and are beyond the reach of U.S. enforcement.
See also: Cisco stock spikes after earnings and revenue beat, annual forecast raised “I find that frustrating,” Herren told MarketWatch in an interview Wednesday. “We paused business in Russia early on [in March 2022], and shut it down completely in June 2022.” Herren explained that Cisco has put restrictions on resellers, and expects to take more action. “We will take action against offending resellers to the extent in which we can find out who they are,” he said. “It is disappointing that this is still happening.” Information purportedly extracted from a Russian customs database last year and shared with MarketWatch appeared to show that Cisco products had entered Russia from a number of countries, with the majority of shipments coming from China. Other countries of origin include Vietnam, Switzerland, Mexico, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand and the Netherlands, as well as the U.S., according to the data. Related: Cisco gear is being shipped into Russia from China and other countries, leaked customs database shows In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a host of major U.S. corporations, including Cisco, ended their Russian operations. Cisco …