The Vkusno & Tochka, which is a rebranded McDonald’s in Russia after the company fled in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has smashed the sales records on the opening day.
According to a Reuters interview with the company’s chief executive, when Russia’s rebranded McDonald’s restaurants opened in Moscow earlier this month, they shattered sales records set when the locations were adorned with golden arches.
After just one day in business, the new brand Vkusno & Tochka could have put up a sign reading “Over 120,000 Served” to pay homage to the earlier days of its predecessor. On June 12 and 13, 50 new locations, including the company’s flagship facility on Pushkin Square in Moscow, went live.
“We have never seen such daily turnover in the whole time McDonald’s has worked in Russia,” Vkusno & Tochka CEO Oleg Paroev said.
Vkusno & Tochka, which roughly translates to “Tasty and That’s It,” is a completely new brand with a new logo, color scheme, and names for the burgers and shakes after the restaurants lost all rights to use McDonald’s branding and trademarks.
Paroev is hoping to surpass owner Alexander Govor’s goal of having 1,000 stores in four to five years, surpassing the 850 mark achieved by McDonald’s before the company fled in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He acknowledges that the novelty and historic nature of the event drove the impressive throngs that crowded the restaurants on opening weekend.
According to Reuters, McDonald’s kept the option to reenter the market:
Govor, who previously ran 25 restaurants, said at the launch that he paid a ‘symbolic’ sum for McDonald’s Russia and that the U.S. corporation had made it clear they would not exercise a 15-year buyback option.
Some former McDonald’s franchisees keep running their business using McDonald’s branding, packaging, and menus while renaming their Big Macs in violation of Russian law. Of course we’re not happy about this, says Paroev, who hates having to compete with these Russian Ronald McDonald ghosts.
Although off to a good start, Vkusno & Tochka is currently experiencing some difficulty as a result of the U.S.-led trade war on Russia because “a significant percentage” of the company’s ingredients are imported, according to Paroev.
Support GreatGameIndia
