drop by drop the exodus of western companies from Russia as a response to the invasion of Ukraine, it becomes larger and has an increasingly greater impact on the daily life of the citizens of the Eurasian country.
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However, paddling against the current of sanctions, media pressure or country risk, a handful of companies continue their operations in the country, either because they manage a franchise model or because they consider that their businesses are key in said market.
“The overnight exit can be given by some business partners, but there are investments that are not as flexible to move and migrate from one day to another”, said Raúl Ávila, a business expert.
Under the umbrella of a franchise model are the famous brands of fast food chains such as Subway, Dunkin Donuts (DD) y Burger King.
In the case of the latter, owned by Restaurant Brands International, it operates about 800 franchises in Russia, which are managed by independent local operators.
(What’s more: Due to the siege of sanctions, Russia is approaching a possible ‘default’).
The aforementioned companies recently pointed out, DD being the most recent, their unrestricted support for the people of Ukraine, donations of their profits to humanitarian causes, the cessation of expansion plans and the cutting of corporate consultancies.
hotel chains like Hyatt, Marriott, Accor o Hilton, have recently come under heavy media pressure for continuing their operations in Russia. As in the case of their fast food peers, hotels operate under the umbrella of third parties.
These large companies have begun to minimize their operations in that country by halting new hotel developments or closing their corporate offices in the Moscow capital. The French operator Accor owns more than 50 hotels in Russia, while Marriott has 28; Hilton, 26 and Hyatt, 5.
Among other large multinationals that have not abandoned the Eurasian country so far are Cargill, Citrix, Decathlon, Auchan, Asus, Abbott Laboratories, Herbalife, Danone, Unilever, Nestlé, Pirelli, Total Energies, among others. Yale University updates a list of all continuing businesses daily.
Renault, the iconic French automaker, has ruled out withdrawing from the Russian market for the time being “due to high costs.”
(Keep reading: Russia and Ukraine negotiate under suspicion of Chinese aid to Moscow).
On the contrary, PepsiCo announced that it will suspend the sale of soft drinks but will continue with milk, baby food, among others.
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