The grand reopening of McDonald’s will take place on the same iconic site as Moscow’s Pushkin Square, where the company first opened in Russia in January 1990.
Image: REUTERS)
There is a change in sight for Russia’s fast food scene, as old McDonald’s restaurants reopen with a new brand and ownership after the company last month said it was leaving the country.
The relaunch will begin on Russia Day, a patriotic holiday celebrating the country’s independence.
It comes more than three decades after the arrival of the popular Western fast food chain in Russia.
The grand reopening will take place on the same landmark as Moscow’s Pushkin Square, where McDonald’s first opened in Russia in January 1990.
In the early 1990s, when the Soviet Union collapsed, McDonald’s came to embody a thaw in Cold War tensions and was a vehicle for millions of Russians to enjoy American food and culture.
The departure of the brand is now a powerful symbol of how Russia and the West are turning their backs.
McDonald’s said last month that it was selling its restaurants in Russia to one of its local licensors, Alexander Govor. The deal marked one of the most important business ventures since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine on February 24th.
McDonald’s iconic “Golden Bows” have been removed to Moscow and St. Petersburg, where they will give way to a new logo that includes two French fries and a burger on a green background.
The reopening will initially cover 15 locations in Moscow and the surrounding region.
Govor has said it plans to expand the new brand, which has not yet been named, to 1,000 locations across the country and reopen all the chain’s restaurants in two months.
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However, a brand expert has warned that there may be some headwinds.
It takes decades to build a brand, said Peter Gabrielsson, a professor of international marketing at Vaasa University in Finland, and the new launch is crucial to the brand’s future success.
“Opening day is important because it’s the first time consumers can really feel, touch and see the brand and what it stands for,” he said. “It’s important what the reaction is, and obviously people will compare it to McDonald’s.”
McDonald’s, the world’s largest burger chain, had owned 84% of its nearly 850 restaurants in Russia and raised up to $ 1.4 billion after the sale to Govor, which GiD LLC had previously run 25 restaurants. .
Oleg Paroev of McDonald’s Russia has said other franchisees would have the option of working with the new brand, but the traditional McDonald’s brand will leave the country. McDonald’s has said it will retain its trademarks.
Last year, McDonald’s generated about 9%, or $ 2 billion, of its revenue from Russia and Ukraine. McDonald’s has the right to repurchase its Russian restaurants within 15 years, but many of the terms of the sale to Govor are still unclear.
The TASS news agency said on Wednesday that McDonald’s would remain open as usual at Moscow and St. Petersburg airports and train stations until 2023, citing a source close to Rosinter Restaurants, another franchisee.
“Rosinter has a unique agreement under which the American corporation cannot take out the franchise. They can operate in peace.”
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