Burger King owner says operator in Russia refuses to shut shops
18 March 2022
The owner of Burger King has said the operator of its 800 stores in Russia has “refused” to close them, despite its demand to suspend trading after the invasion of Ukraine.
...Burger King, which is owned by Restaurant Brands International (RBI), said it had suspended all supply chain, operational and marketing support for the Russian operation.
RBI has been unable to close the operations directly, as rivals such as McDonald’s have done, because of a complicated legal contract with its main franchisee partner, Alexander Kolobov, with whom it has run the joint venture in Russia for a decade.
“We contacted the main operator of the business and demanded the suspension of Burger King restaurant operations in Russia,” David Shear, the president of RBI, said... “He has refused to do so. Would we like to suspend all Burger King operations immediately in Russia? Yes. Are we able to enforce a suspension of operations today? No”...