NEW YORK, United States — American fast-food
giant
McDonald's said Monday it will exit Russia in the wake of the Ukraine
invasion, ending a more than three-decade run begun in the hopeful period near
the end of the Cold War.
اضافة اعلان
The restaurant chain, which launched in
Moscow in January 1990 to great fanfare almost two years before the Soviet
Union was dissolved, characterized the withdrawal as difficult but necessary.
"The humanitarian crisis caused by the
war in
Ukraine, and the precipitating unpredictable operating environment,
have led McDonald's to conclude that continued ownership of the
business in Russia is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with
McDonald's values," the company said in a statement.
The chain is looking to sell
"its entire portfolio of McDonald's restaurants in Russia to
a local buyer."
The burger giant is one of the numerous
foreign firms that have pulled out of the country or suspended operations
following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in late February.
Earlier on Monday, French automaker Renault
announced it had handed over its Russian assets to the government, marking the
first major nationalization since the onset of Western sanctions against
Moscow's military campaign.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin ordered
troops into pro-Western Ukraine on February 24, triggering unprecedented
sanctions and sparking an exodus of foreign corporations including H&M,
Starbucks, and Ikea.
In March, citing "unspeakable suffering
to innocent people," McDonald's closed all of its 850 restaurants in the
country, where it says it employs 62,000 workers.
But on Monday the "Big Mac" maker
went a step further, saying the company "is pursuing the sale of its
entire portfolio of McDonald's restaurants in Russia to a local buyer."
After the sale, the restaurants would no
longer be able to use the McDonald's name, logo, branding, or menu, though the
company will retain its trademark in the country, it said.
Russia currently accounts for nine percent
of the company's revenue and three percent of its operating profit.
McDonald's expects a one-time charge of $1.2
billion to $1.4 billion to write off the investment.
A 'new era'
The withdrawal offers a stark contrast to
the optimism that surrounded the arrival of the quintessentially American brand
in Russia in the waning days of the
Cold War.
The company began discussing Russian
business at the 1976 Olympics in Canada where McDonald's let Russian athletes
use the "Big Mac Bus" in a sign of good will.
That led to 14 years of negotiations,
"culminating in the glorious day in January of 1990 when the first
McDonald's opened to so much hope and excitement in Pushkin Square,"
recalled McDonald's Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski in a message to
employees.
"In the history of McDonald's, it was
one of our proudest and most exciting milestones," Kempczinski said.
"After nearly half a century of Cold War animosity, the image of the
Golden Arches shining above Pushkin Square heralded for many, on both sides of
the Iron Curtain, the beginning of a new era."
In the subsequent decades, McDonald's
operations in Russia expanded far beyond Moscow as the company invested
billions of dollars and grew its supply chain.
But Kempczinski said the Russia investment
was no longer viable in terms of business, or consistent with company
values.
Still, he closed his message on a hopeful
note, saying, "let us not end by saying, 'goodbye'... (but) 'Until we meet
again.'"
The company's decision to divest
"underlines a view that relations with Russia will not soon be
normalized," said Neil Saunders, a retail expert at GlobalData.
The conditions of the exit, including the
financial challenges facing prospective Russian buyers means "it is
unlikely the sale price will be anywhere near the pre-invasion book value of
the business," said Saunders, adding that the departure "will leave a
hole" in McDonald's growth plans "that is not easily filled in the
near-term."
Shares of McDonald's fell 0.4 percent to
$244.04.
Read more Trending
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
