Former McDonald’s stores to reopen in Russia under new brand

Next Sunday will mark a new era for Russian fast food lovers, as former McDonald’s stores reopen under new management, more than three decades after the western chain arrived in the country.

The relaunch will take place on Russia Day, a patriotic holiday that celebrates the country’s independence, at the same iconic location on Moscow’s Pushkin Square, where McDonald’s opened its first store in Russia in January 1990.

McDonald’s last month announced the sale of its stores in Russia to one of the local franchisees, Alexander Govor. The deal marked one of Russia’s most important business exits since the country began war with Ukraine on February 24.

McDonald’s iconic golden arches have been removed from stores in Moscow and St. The reopening will take place at 15 locations in and around Moscow.

The name of the new network remains a closely guarded secret. A change in the name of the McDonald’s app on Friday to ‘My Burger’ generated some excitement online, but the chain’s press team said this was only temporary, RBC Daily reported.

Govor said he plans to expand the new brand to 1,000 stores across the country and reopen all outlets within two months.

“Opening day is important because it’s the first time consumers will be able to really feel, touch and see the brand and what it stands for,” he said. “It’s important what the reaction is and obviously people will compare it to McDonald’s.”

McDonald’s owned 84% of the chain’s nearly 850 stores across Russia and took a loss of up to $1.4 billion after the decision to leave the country and sell the assets to Govor, whose company Russian GiD already managed 25 of them.

Last year, McDonald’s generated about 9%, or $2 billion, of its revenue in Russia and Ukraine.

The company has the right to buy back stores in Russia within 15 years. Many terms of the sale to Govor are still under wraps. Russian news agency TASS said on Wednesday that McDonald’s will remain open as usual at airports and train stations in Moscow and St Petersburg until 2023, citing a source close to Rosinter Restaurants, another franchisee.