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• Starbucks has 130 outlets in Russia, which account for less than 1% of its annual revenue
• Coffee chain said it would pay its nearly 2,000 Russian employees for six months
Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ: SBUX) on Monday said it is pulling out its business from the Russian market after operating for nearly 15 years and joins McDonald’s Corp (NYSE: MCD) in marking the end of the presence of some of the most prominent Western consumer brands in the country.
The coffee-chain giant has 130 stores in Russia, wholly owned and operated by its licensee Alshaya Group.
Although the Seattle-based company did not provide details on the financial impact of the exit, the locations account for less than 1% of Starbucks’ annual revenue.
Early in March, Starbucks temporarily closed its stores and suspended all business activity in Russia, including the product shipments, following Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Starbucks, which opened its first outlet in Russia in 2007, said it would continue to support the nearly 2000 employees there, including paying them for six months.
McDonald’s last week said it struck a deal to sell its nearly three-decade-old Russian operation to Alexander Govor, its current licensee in the market, who will rebrand the burger chain business.
Picture Credit: NBC News
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