- Steve Rosenberg
- BBC News, Russia
4 hours
image source, Getty Images
They say that the composition of the burgers is the same.
It’s a Russian modernization of an American icon.
Fast-food giant McDonald’s has withdrawn from Russia in protest at the invasion of Ukraine and has sold its more than 800 restaurants here to Russian businessman Alexander Govor.
This Sunday, the first restaurants are reopening in Moscow under a new brand.
There is a new name: “Vkusno i Tochka”which translates as “delicious and period“.
The characteristic yellow letter M of the McDonalds logo has been replaced by two stylized French fries and a dot (or is it a hamburger?)
Gone are the Big Mac and the McFlurry.
But the new owners hope customers won’t notice too many differences.
They held a press conference at the flagship restaurant on Pushkin Square, where Moscow’s first McDonald’s opened last year. 32 years.
“Our goal is that our customers do not notice the difference in quality or atmosphere,” said Oleg Paroyev, CEO of Vkusno i Tochka.
“The name changes, the love remains,” says the slogan.
But one protester stormed the event saying, “Bring the Big Mac back!”
The new company says the composition of the burgers has not changed and that the McDonald’s team remains.
symbolic event
Back in 1990 I was in the huge queue: it took me three hours to get in and be served. I remember the emotion.
image source, Archyde.com
The opening of the first McDonald’s in Moscow in the 1990s generated great expectation.
The arrival of McDonald’s was a symbol of Soviet Russia that embraced western ideaswestern culture, western food.
What is happening this Sunday here is also a symbol: of how Russia and the West are separating.
We’re not just talking about burgers. Many global brands and multinational companies have suspended their business in Russia or have been sold and pulled out altogether, in protest of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
Govor, a Siberian oil tycoon, aims to reopen about a quarter of McDonald’s 850 restaurants under his new name by the end of the month.
Last month, McDonald’s announced it was leaving Russia due to the “humanitarian crisis” and the “unpredictable operating environment” caused by the war.
image source, Getty Images
More than 30 years later, the chain has been revamped with a new owner and a new brand.
Russia and Ukraine accounted for around 9% of global sales McDonald’s last year.
Starbucks, Coca Cola, Levi’s y Apple they are among the international brands that have left Russia or suspended sales here since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Russia is now under sanctions wide-ranging international markets, which are disrupting their supply chains and increasing unemployment.
image source, Getty Images
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