In the litany of departures of Western companies from Russia, an exercise that has become almost routine for a week, the last two announcements will have aroused more emotion than usual.
Because McDonald’s, which declared Tuesday March 8 to temporarily close its restaurants in Russia, is a very popular chain in the country, with 850 brands. Then, the brand had become an emblem of post-communist openness. On January 31, 1990, the day the first Moscow restaurant opened, no less than 30,000 customers had been served… The giant Coca-Cola had installed its first red distributor in the Soviet capital in 1988.
Thirty-two years later, it is therefore against a backdrop of war in Ukraine that these two brands are stepping back, symbolizing this time the growing isolation of Russia, both economically and politically. They had both been criticized in the United States for their slowness to act, as had PepsiCo, who announced that he would limit his activity on Tuesday evening, by suspending the sale of its drinks but continuing to provide food.
“Respecting our values means we cannot ignore unnecessary human suffering in Ukraine”, writes, in a message, the general manager of McDonald’s, Chris Kempczinski. The firm, which specifies that it does not know how long this closure will last, will continue to pay its 62,000 employees. Russia, where McDonald’s directly manages more than 80% of the restaurants bearing its name, represents 9% of the group’s turnover and 3% of its operating profit.
Another major player in the country, the Starbucks coffee chain announced the same decision on Tuesday evening, with 130 stalls temporarily closed. A little earlier, in a completely different sector, the giant Unilever (Dove, Knorr, Axe, Rexona, Domestos, Cif, etc.) had announced that it was suspending the delivery of its products, imitating Procter & Gamble in this.
Auchan and Leroy-Merlin continue their activity
Such temporary closures have been decided by at least 250 foreign companies, in the most varied sectors. The very popular Swedish Ikea stores had been among the first to close, causing huge queues. The powerful French retail chains, such as Auchan or Leroy-Merlin, did not follow this movement.
Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Rolex, Hermès or Prada, in the luxury sector, have suspended their activities. In the legendary Moscow shopping center of GUM, on Red Square, these stores were closed on Tuesday March 8, but the explanatory panels evoked “technical reasons”.
In clothing, H&M or the brands of the Inditex company (Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, etc.) have also suspended their activity, as have Nike, Adidas and Puma.
In the computer department, Apple, Microsoft or Adobe have suspended the delivery of their products or software. “The latest iPhone is the one you have in your pocket”, says a joke that has become popular. Visa and Mastercard have suspended their services for foreign cards in Russia and for Russian cards abroad. This latest decision makes life very difficult for the thousands of Russians who have left their country since February 24, fearing an economic crisis, political hardening or even military mobilization. Airbnb and Booking have also ceased their work in Russia.
Ford, BMW, Hyundai, Skoda, Volkswagen and Nissan have stopped marketing or producing their vehicles in Russia. AvtoVaz, a Renault subsidiary, for its part highlights logistical problems to operate its factories.
In culture, the shutdown of Netflix and Spotify was very noticeable, as well as the decision of Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros, Sony and Disney not to broadcast their latest films there. Access to Coursera’s online college courses has also been cut.