The expert called the change of the beneficiary and the abandonment of the McDonald’s brand in Kazakhstan logical

In the current situation, changing the beneficiary and abandoning the McDonald’s brand in Kazakhstan looks like a logical decision, Mikhail Burmistrov, general director of Infoline-analytics, told Vedomosti.

“It is quite possible that this will develop in the same logic as it happened in Belarus, where the franchise partner switched to the Vkusno i Tochka brand. This will solve a set of problems related to production and logistics, because deliveries will be made from the territory of Russia,” the expert noted.

According to Burmistrov, the key problem for Kazakh business was the dependence on the supply of semi-finished products from Russia. McDonald’s banned purchases in Russia from Vkusno i Tochka, so an alternative was needed, which would be significantly more expensive.

Switching to the Vkusno i Tochka brand, in turn, will be a viable solution, because the restaurant chain has already almost restored all the main points associated with the menu. “The rights to work in Kazakhstan are a serious asset for McDonald’s. There is something to fight for here, if there is a possibility of restructuring logistics through other countries, although this will be much more expensive, ”concluded Burmistrov.

Bloomberg wrote that McDonald’s may leave Kazakhstan due to a disruption in supply chains and the inability to purchase meat in Russia.

Vedomosti sent a request to the fast food chain Vkusno-i Tochka, whose restaurants opened in Russia on the site of a former McDonald’s.

Earlier today it became known that a chain of fast food restaurants managed by Food Solutions KZ LLP ceases to operate under the McDonald’s brand in Kazakhstan due to supply restrictions. The press service noted that the resumption of activities and the timing of the opening of new fast food restaurants under a new name will be announced in the near future.

In addition, Kairat Boranbaev, a McDonald’s franchisee in Kazakhstan, was arrested on March 17, 2022, on charges of embezzlement in the quasi-public sector. This was reported by Interfax with reference to the statement of the Financial Monitoring Agency of Kazakhstan.

Against the backdrop of the start of a special operation in Ukraine, on March 14, McDonald’s closed its restaurants in Russia, and on May 16 announced its final withdrawal from the country. As a result, the Russian business of McDonald’s was sold to the local licensee Alexander Govor. The company reserved the opportunity to buy back the business within 15 years, Govor said in an interview with Vedomosti. On June 12, the first 15 restaurants of the former McDonald’s reopened in Russia under the Vkusno-i Tochka brand.