(Reuters) – It may seem and smell similar to McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), but it is now Vkusno & tochka. The Filet-O-Fish no longer has the golden arches; it is now just a fish burger. McDonald’s has departed Russia.
Russia’s fast-food and business landscape entered a new era on Sunday, when McDonald’s outlets under new Russian management and with the new moniker “Tasty and that’s it” opened their doors in Moscow.
More than three decades after the American burger behemoth first opened its doors in Moscow in a symbolic thaw between East and West, the presentation of the redesigned shops is once again a clear indication of a new global order. The reopenings occurred on Russia Day, a national pride-celebrating event.
The success of the brand, which McDonald’s sold when it left the nation because of the Ukraine crisis, might serve as a barometer of Russia’s ability to become more self-sufficient and defy Western sanctions.
On Sunday, several individuals lined up in front of the old flagship McDonald’s restaurant on Pushkin Square, the heart of Moscow. The new logo was a stylized burger with two fries, and it said “The name changes, but the love stays.”
The line was far less than the thousands of people that rushed to the inauguration of the first McDonald’s in 1990, during the Soviet period.
Sardana Donskaya, who waited in line 32 years ago for her first taste of a brand that exemplified Western capitalism and returned on Sunday to welcome in its replacement, said, “We must prevent a decline in quality so that everything remains the same as before, since we liked McDonald’s.”
The menu at Vkusno & Tochka was smaller and lacked the Big Mac and other burgers and sweets, including the McFlurry. A double cheeseburger cost 129 roubles ($2.31), as opposed to 160 at McDonald’s, while a fish burger cost 169 roubles, as opposed to about 200 prior.
Alexander Merkulov, the quality manager of the new firm, said that neither the burgers’ ingredients nor the equipment from McDonald’s had changed.
McDonald’s closed its stores in Russia in March and said it was leaving the country in mid-May. It was one of the most well-known companies to leave the country since Russia sent tens of thousands of soldiers into Ukraine on February 24.
As an indication of the hurry with which the new owners had to rebrand in time for the debut, the majority of the packaging for fries and burgers was plain white, as were the drink cups, while the takeout bags were plain brown. On ketchup and other sauce containers, black marks were used to cover up the old McDonald’s logo.
However, Sergei, a 15-year-old consumer, saw no change.
As he devoured a chicken burger and fries, he said, “The flavour has not changed.” “The cola is different, but the burger has not changed at all.”
SUPERIOR TO A BIG MAC?
On Sunday, 15 restaurants rebranded under the same name will open in and around the city. Oleg Paroev, the chief executive officer of Vkusno & tochka, said that the firm intended to reopen 200 restaurants throughout Russia by the end of June and all 850 by the end of the summer. See FACTBOX:
“We were idle for three months,” Ruzanna, manager of a Moscow branch opening in July, said. Everyone is quite satisfied.
McDonald’s Russia CEO Paroev, who was hired weeks before the Ukraine war started, said that the business would retain its old McDonald’s interior but eliminate all allusions to its previous name.
“Our aim is for our visitors to detect no change in quality or atmosphere,” Paroev said during a press conference held at the restaurant.
The company’s new owner, a Siberian billionaire named Alexander Govor, told Reuters that it will create a product akin to McDonald’s famous Big Mac.
He told Reuters, “We do not have the right to use certain colours, the golden arches, or any reference to McDonald’s.”
“The Big Mac is McDonald’s origin tale. We will absolutely undertake a similar endeavour, “he remarked. “We shall attempt to improve this meal so that our visitors and guests like it.”
CEO Paroev noted that the firm was seeking alternative suppliers of soft drinks since it had run out of Coca-Cola products, whose sales had been suspended in Russia. Paroev said that all but 2% of the chain’s ingredients are supplied domestically.
Not everybody was impressed.
Moments after the press conference, a guy with a placard reading “Bring back the Big Mac” stepped in front of the cameras. The restaurant personnel quickly removed him from the establishment.
I PAID SYMBOLIC SUM TO BE THE NEW OWNER
Govor is among the several Russians acquiring assets as hundreds of Western companies escape. He stated on Sunday that he paid a “symbolic” price for McDonald’s Russia that was “far below the market price.” McDonald’s, which makes the most burgers in the world, had to pay up to $1.4 billion because of the sale.
According to Russian authorities, the U.S. group has the right to repurchase its restaurants within 15 years. However, Govor has cast doubt on this possibility.
“They made it clear that they would not buy back,” he was quoted as saying by Interfax.
McDonald’s said that Govor will keep tens of thousands of its employees for at least two years, but it couldn’t say anything right away about the terms of the sale or its plans for the future in Russia.
