NEWLY REBRANDED MCDONALD’S OPENS IN RUSSIA

When McDonald’s decided to close its shops in Russia due to the country’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, local businessman Alexander Nikolaevich Govor decided to take matters into his own hands.

All 850 McDonald’s restaurants have been rebranded and renamed Vkusno & Tochka which means “tasty and that’s it” in Russian.

At a press conference to announce the opening of the first store, Govor gave some business insight.

“If you recall, in May, McDonald’s announced they were removing their businesses from Russia. I am very proud that they chose me to continue developing this business. That means the company views me as someone who fully shares all the principles of business and values of McDonald’s.”

The big opening ceremony took place on Russia Day, the country’s day of independence. It also took place at the same location, Pushkinskaya Square, where McDonald’s opened its first Russian restaurant in 1990.

The company plans to open 200 branches by the end of June and hopes to have all of them open by the end of the summer.

“I won’t hide the fact that I am an ambitious man, and so I am not just going to simply open up all 850 restaurants but I am going to develop new ones as well,” said Govor.

With the rebranding, the company was able to retain 62 000 former McDonald’s employees.

Image credit: NDTV