Moscow, Russia- Starbucks has announced it’s pulling out of Russia which will lead to the closure of its 130 stores across the country.
However, the US coffee shop chain said it would continue to pay its 2 000 Russian workers for six months and help them to transition to new opportunities outside of Starbucks.
In a letter to employees on March 8, Kevin Johnson, then-chief executive of Starbucks, said the company was suspending all business activity in Russia, including shipment of all Starbucks products.
Starbucks opened its first store in Russia in 2007 in a shopping mall north of Moscow, two years after it won a legal dispute over the use of its name by an unlicensed local operator.
The company’s announcement comes a week after McDonald’s said it had agreed a deal to sell its 850-restaurant Russian business to a local franchisee, allowing it to exit the country.
Meanwhile, according to the Izvestia newspaper, a new name has been developed for the McDonald’s restaurant chain in Russia and will be announced soon.
In addition, Izvestia said the Latin letters Mc will be used as a sign for the restaurant chain, while M will remain branded. The menu in the restaurants will not change conceptually, and the names of the dishes will stay as close as possible to the classic McDonald’s menu.
However, McDonald’s General Director in Russia, Oleg Paroyev has told TASS News Agency that the worldwide logo, the golden arches of the letter M on a red background will be removed from the rebranded restaurants.
“The yellow M will not be kept in the restaurant design, that’s 100 percent. The name Mc is not even considered. Retaining the yellow M is not considered as it clearly indicates an affiliation with McDonald’s. The new enterprise cannot operate under the old brand,” said Paroyev.
