Luxury Campaign

In August 2012, UANI launched its "Luxury Goods Campaign" to highlight the business activities of luxury goods firms in Iran. These companies supply the elite of the Iranian regime with a variety of luxury commodities ranging from extravagant automobiles to lavish jewelry, at a time when the majority of Iranians languish under a mismanaged and floundering economy.

As regime elites cruise the streets of Tehran in luxury vehicles like Mercedes, Iranian citizens are struggling to cope with and protest against rapidly rising prices of basic goods and foodstuffs such as chicken, bread and milk, as well as surging inflation rates. Iranian citizens lament that "bare essentials are becoming scarce” and that there is something "very wrong” with their economy "when there are many who can't afford bread and basic necessities in this city” there are "multimillion-dollar car[s] on the street.” EU economic advisor Mehrdad Emadi reaffirms the disturbing economic gap, comparing Iran’s elite to Russia’s post-Cold War oligarch class, "those tycoons who were able by hook, crook, or corruption to acquire dizzying amounts of money at the end of the Soviet era.”

Crucially, studies of other authoritarian regimes, notably North Korea, suggest that access to the luxury goods market exacerbates existing economic inequality and also provides autocratic leaders with a means to co-opt elites who might otherwise present a threat to the state. The UN itself has recognized the integral role the luxury goods market plays in the maintenance of authoritarian regimes. In response to North Korea’s illegal nuclear activities, the UN Security Council enacted a number of resolutions, including UN Resolution 1718 in 2006, which specifically bans the exportation of luxury goods to North Korea in an effort to curb the regime’s power and viability and compel it to abandon its nuclear activities.

Similar measures must be taken with the Iranian regime. According to a Fox News report, "Iran’s ultra-rich reportedly are a mixture of the well-connected. There are the people in the banking sector, as well as the technocrats with talent, valued and rewarded by the regime. Then there are the clergy close to the regime, because not all clergy are in lock-step with the hardliners running the country. The elite is rounded out by a segment of the Revolutionary Guard corps who control trade and smuggling.” The regime relies on luxury goods firms to co-opt these elites, and, in turn, maintain power. The listed companies below must immediately take the responsible action to end their business with the brutal Iranian regime that is pursuing an illicit nuclear program, sponsoring acts of terrorism worldwide and brutally repressing its own population.

Luxury Firms Active in Iran

Company Nature of Business
The British luxury goods company lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.
The BMW-Iran Facebook page lists the address of a BMW "Central Showroom” and "Service Center” in Tehran. The Facebook page also provides an official link to a BMW-Iran website.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists multiple authorized retailers in Tehran.
The Italian jeweler and luxury goods retailer has four authorized retailers in Iran.
The French jeweler and watch manufacturer lists two authorized retailers in Tehran.
The French jewelry manufacturer lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker and jewelry manufacturer lists two authorized retailers in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists two authorized retailers in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.
The German luxury watchmaker lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.
The French luxury perfume house lists eleven authorized retailers in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists two authorized retailers in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists two authorized retailers in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.
UANI announced in January 2013 that following discussions with Lamborghini, the company had put an end to its Iran business. In 2011 it was reported that Lamborghinis would soon be available on the Iranian market.
In September 2011, an Iranian source reported that Land Rover was being imported into Iran and that "dealership land was bought, the service bay was being set up… [and] they had presold dozens of cars.”
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.
French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton is the parent company of multiple luxury goods companies which maintain retailers in Iran, including Bulgari, Chaumet, Guerlain, Tag Heuer, and Zenith.
Following discussions with UANI, Fiat luxury auto brand Maserati stated that its Iran dealings had concluded. Earlier reports indicated that Maserati was opening a dealership in Tehran in partnership with Arta Tech Motor.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists five authorized retailers and one distributor in Tehran.
Setareh Iran describes itself as the "General distributor of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars in Iran.”
The British manufacturer of high-end audio equipment lists one distributor and one "premium partner” in Iran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker and major sponsor of the London 2012 Olympics lists ten authorized retailers in Tehran.
The Italian luxury watchmaker lists an authorized distributor in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker and jewelry manufacturer lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists two authorized retailers in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists authorized retailers in Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, and Tehran.
The luxury watchmaker lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury goods holding company is the parent company of multiple luxury goods companies which maintain retailers in Iran, including Alfred Dunhill, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, IWC Schaffhausen, Panerai, Piaget, and Vacheron Constantin.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists an official retailer in Tehran.
The Austrian jeweler lists an authorized retailer in Tehran on its website.
The Swiss luxury watch conglomerate is the parent company of multiple luxury watch companies which maintain retailers in Iran, including Blancpain, Glashutte Original, Jaquet Droz, Longines, Omega, and Rado.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists an official boutique and multiple authorized retailers in Iran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists an authorized distributor in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker lists an authorized retailer in Tehran.

Media Reports