After 15 years in Russia, Starbucks will leave the country to join companies such as McDonald’s, Shell, Renault, Visa and Mastercard, which are finally saying goodbye to the Russian market.
The coffee giant has announced that the brand will no longer be present in Russia. Starbucks has 130 locations in the country, representing less than 1% of the company’s annual revenue. Starbucks will pay its nearly 2,000 Russian workers six months’ wages and help them move to new job opportunities outside the company.
Both consumers and investors are pushing Western companies like Starbucks to sever ties with Russia to show opposition to the Kremlin’s war with Ukraine, but it takes time to leave licensing deals. Starbucks has suspended all business with the country since March 8. The break included deliveries of all Starbucks products and the temporary closure of cafes. 200,000 people worked in foreign companies that left Russia
In its latest quarterly results, published in early May, the company did not disclose the financial impact of the suspension of business operations. Former CEO Kevin Johnson has promised to donate the proceeds from Russian business to humanitarian causes.
But it was certainly a smaller financial blow than the one inflicted on McDonald’s, which has been in Russia for more than 30 years. The fast-food giant said shutting down significant operations in Russia and Ukraine cost it $ 127 million in the first quarter. Both markets account for 9% of its revenue in 2021. The company has about 850 restaurants in Russia, most of which are run directly by it.
McDonald’s has announced that it will sell the seats for an undisclosed fee to a Siberian franchisee who will operate them under a new brand.
