Starbucks To Exit From Russia

(RTTNews) - Coffee retail giant Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) has announced its decision to exit from Russia after closing its 130 licenses cafes, thus ending its 15 years of operation in the country.

"Starbucks has made the decision to exit and no longer have a brand presence in the market. We will continue to support the nearly 2,000 green apron partners in Russia, including pay for six months and assistance for partners to transition to new opportunities outside of Starbucks," the company said in a press release.

Starbucks has 130 licensed locations in the country, which account for less than 1% of the company's annual revenue.

On March 8, the company had suspended all of its business activity in the country, including shipments of all Starbucks products and temporarily shuttering cafes. However, the company has now cut all ties with Russia to show its opposition against the invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, McDonald's announced its exit from the Russian market. McDonald's reached a deal with an existing licensee Alexander Govor, under which, Govor will acquire the company's entire restaurant portfolio in Russia and operate the restaurants under a new brand.

McDonald's Corp. noted that the sale and purchase agreement provides for employees to be retained for at least two years, on equivalent terms.

The California-based burger chain expects to record a non-cash charge of around $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion to write off its net investment in the market and recognize significant foreign currency translation losses previously recorded in shareholders' equity.