McDonald's is a sign of the times for Russia.
The company, which 32 years ago symbolized the landing of multinationals in the twilight of the Soviet Union, now represents, with its hasty departure from the Eurasian country and the sale of its businesses to local businessmen, the widespread flight from the Ukraine due to the war.
'La Gran M' has announced the transfer of its subsidiary to a partner from Siberia, who will rename the brand and change its menus.
The terms of the agreement have not been published, although the company acknowledged a few days ago that it will write down some 1.3 billion euros in losses due to its departure from Russia.
The fast food chain has announced that it will sell its Russian subsidiary to its partner Alexander Góvor, who has expanded the chain in Siberia by opening 25 restaurants in remote parts of the country since 2015. Góvor began making his fortune in 2007 mining in the Kuzbas region in a joint venture with Roman Abramovich's Evraz firm.
According to
The Bell
, 148 workers lost their lives on two of its farms.
McDonald's suspended operations in March in the face of the storm unleashed by the offensive on Ukraine.
The prospects for the price of the ruble, whose current strength does not correspond to the real exchange rate in the banks, and the rest of the problems derived from a country subjected to a great wave of sanctions, led the company to temporarily close its restaurants.
Of these, only the few located in train stations and airports were still open, where gigantic queues formed to acquire what now seemed “a luxury” despite having its great rival, Burger King, in front of the establishments, which decided to maintain its activity.
The multinational owned 84% of its almost 850 restaurants in Russia and controlled 7% of the restaurant sector, according to the Tass agency.
However, it was one of the most affected by the sanctions because other firms, such as KFC, have kept their businesses open since most of their establishments are franchises run by Russian businessmen.
The presence of the company in Russia was a serious matter despite jokes that McDonald's could be nationalized by the Kremlin or turned into an 'Uncle Vanya', the meme that has caused a stir in Russia with the joke of renaming the McDonald's brand by investing “The Big M' in a 'B', the 've' in Cyrillic.
As soon as the sale was known, the Moscow Region Agriculture and Food Agency assured that this operation could create some 6,000 additional jobs in the province.
The agreement signed with Góvor provides for the maintenance of the 62,000 jobs generated by McDonald's for at least two years.
In addition, you must assume all your obligations with suppliers, lessors and public companies.
The question now is whether the Russian customer will accept the new image of the burger joint.
According to sources from the chain and Oleg Bukharov, president of the Russian Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers, assured the agency Tass, only the original names and logos will disappear, but the menus will be identical.
Therefore, from mid-June it will be possible to check to what extent the McDonald's brand is the main ingredient in its hamburgers.