However, the Vkusno & tochka shop in Moscow’s Pushkin Square is serving burgers, just like it did during its golden days, according to reports from its opening. It’s no longer McDonald’s because the burger giant abandoned the Russian market in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, ending a three-decade streak that began in 1990. “It was this great symbol of the opening of the Soviet Union to the West,” says Kristy Ironside, an economic historian at McGill University who is working on a book about the fast food company’s experience in the Russian market. WATCHES | A Western business exodus from Russia begins:
Russians fear the country is retreating as foreign businesses leave
As foreign companies like McDonald’s suspend or pull out of Russia and local authorities crack down on dissent, many residents fear their country is moving backwards. Before going through what McDonald’s called a “deforestation process” in Russia, the chain had built a network of more than 800 stores and employed more than 60,000 people there. How long its Russian-made replacement will last is unknown, but it’s not the only clone of the brand vying to exploit the void of Western competition. Amid public and political pressure, more than 1,000 foreign companies have halted operations in Russia to varying degrees since the start of the war in Ukraine, according to a database maintained by Yale University researchers. Familiar-looking fast food offerings appear on a plastic tray in June on the opening day of a new restaurant in Moscow that used to be a McDonald’s. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters) But Russia’s tensions with the West have not dampened consumer appetites for foreign goods and services — as evidenced by some of the copycat businesses that have sprung up since their departure. “Many of these Western brands represented a defiant position against Russian product, against the Soviet era of repression,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale University management professor who has chronicled the actions foreign companies have taken in response to the Ukraine war. “So by buying the local good, it will be inferior and give nothing of the brand.”
A familiar look
In addition to the not-quite-McDonald’s restaurants, there’s a newly launched takeaway coffee and soon-to-be-sold soft drink provider that have made headlines for their similarities to prominent Western brands. More brand imitators may appear. Stars Coffee opened its first restaurant in Moscow to the general public with the slogan “Bucks are gone, stars are left.” (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images) In the case of Stars Coffee, the logo’s commonalities overlap with Starbucks — although the co-owner of the Russian venture told Reuters “apart from the circle, you won’t find anything in common” between them. Regardless of its brand, Sonnenfeld said people who buy coffee there won’t get the same product. “This is a cheap, diluted knock-off that is not going to fool anyone – especially a Russian consumer,” he said. Copycat attempts and brand infringements can be general concerns for Western companies at any time, but Sonnenfeld said what is happening in Russia could be harmful to the country’s long-term business interests. “If they don’t show respect for intellectual property, nobody’s ever going to come back,” he said.
A short-term treatment
Sergei Guriev, an economics professor and professor at Sciences Po in Paris, said these efforts show that Russia’s economy can make adjustments and continue, at least for now. “Although it is not easy to replace Western technology, quality, management practices and business models, in the short term, you can copy them and … produce a substitute,” Guriev told CBC News via audio message. A worker is seen removing part of a sign from a McDonald’s restaurant in Moscow in June. The burger giant exited the Russian market this year. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images) “No wonder that’s happening. How good are these substitutes—well, they’re not great, but they’re sustainable in the short term.” Olga Kamenchuk, an associate professor at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research, said a poll conducted by the Levada Center in 50 Russian regions in May shows that people there are not particularly worried about the effects of Western brands leaving the country. “The majority of Russians, I must say, don’t care that much,” Kamenchuk said in a telephone interview. A more limited poll by Levada, conducted on the streets of Moscow in June, found that residents concerned about the issue put Ikea, McDonald’s and Zara at the top of the list of brands they were most worried about seeing go. A woman walks past closed H&M and Zara stores in a shopping center in Moscow in April. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images) Kamenchuk said that for many Russians, the products sold at Ikea were “a bit expensive,” despite the perception that it is a relatively affordable consumer brand in North America. The outcome of these brands exiting Russia can vary greatly for individuals, depending on their circumstances. “Some Russians don’t notice it; for some Russians, it’s a disaster,” Guriev said. Guinness beer and Nespresso coffee capsules are two examples of consumer products that Reuters reports are no longer on store shelves. Some Russians say essential goods, including some medicines, are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, the news agency reported.
The wider impact
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Yale’s Sonnenfeld, along with colleagues and students, have compiled a detailed list of companies that have curtailed their operations in Russia. A file photo from March shows a long line outside the entrance of an Ikea store in St. Petersburg, Russia, shortly before the retailer prepared to suspend business in the country. (Dmitri Lovetsky/The Associated Press) They say these companies’ combined investment in Russia “represents the lion’s share of all accumulated, active foreign investment in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.” Sonnenfeld said most of these companies did not do a significant part of their global business in Russia, and that lessens the pain of lost investment there. “This has not had a lot of consequences for companies in terms of their top line,” he said. Referring to the data gathered at Yale, Guriev said the investments these companies have made in “factories, stores, warehouses” remain. Similarly, the investments made in the people who worked for these companies, in terms of training and skill development, remain in Russia if the workers do not leave. “The most important impact [of the exit of foreign companies] it’s not that you can’t produce hamburgers in Russia,” Guriev said. Instead, he said, the biggest problem for Russia’s overall development is a lack of access to Western resources, including capital, supplies and technology.
title: “Western Brands Still Dominate In Russia Even If They Copy Their Niche Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-12” author: “Daniel Oliver”
However, the Vkusno & tochka shop in Moscow’s Pushkin Square is serving burgers, just like it did during its golden days, according to reports from its opening. It’s no longer McDonald’s because the burger giant abandoned the Russian market in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, ending a three-decade streak that began in 1990. “It was this great symbol of the opening of the Soviet Union to the West,” says Kristy Ironside, an economic historian at McGill University who is working on a book about the fast food company’s experience in the Russian market. WATCHES | A Western business exodus from Russia begins:
Russians fear the country is retreating as foreign businesses leave
As foreign companies like McDonald’s suspend or pull out of Russia and local authorities crack down on dissent, many residents fear their country is moving backwards. Before going through what McDonald’s called a “deforestation process” in Russia, the chain had built a network of more than 800 stores and employed more than 60,000 people there. How long its Russian-made replacement will last is unknown, but it’s not the only clone of the brand vying to exploit the void of Western competition. Amid public and political pressure, more than 1,000 foreign companies have halted operations in Russia to varying degrees since the start of the war in Ukraine, according to a database maintained by Yale University researchers. Familiar-looking fast food offerings appear on a plastic tray in June on the opening day of a new restaurant in Moscow that used to be a McDonald’s. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters) But Russia’s tensions with the West have not dampened consumer appetites for foreign goods and services — as evidenced by some of the copycat businesses that have sprung up since their departure. “Many of these Western brands represented a defiant position against Russian product, against the Soviet era of repression,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale University management professor who has chronicled the actions foreign companies have taken in response to the Ukraine war. “So by buying the local good, it will be inferior and give nothing of the brand.”
A familiar look
In addition to the not-quite-McDonald’s restaurants, there’s a newly launched takeaway coffee and soon-to-be-sold soft drink provider that have made headlines for their similarities to prominent Western brands. More brand imitators may appear. Stars Coffee opened its first restaurant in Moscow to the general public with the slogan “Bucks are gone, stars are left.” (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images) In the case of Stars Coffee, the logo’s commonalities overlap with Starbucks — although the co-owner of the Russian venture told Reuters “apart from the circle, you won’t find anything in common” between them. Regardless of its brand, Sonnenfeld said people who buy coffee there won’t get the same product. “This is a cheap, diluted knock-off that is not going to fool anyone – especially a Russian consumer,” he said. Copycat attempts and brand infringements can be general concerns for Western companies at any time, but Sonnenfeld said what is happening in Russia could be harmful to the country’s long-term business interests. “If they don’t show respect for intellectual property, nobody’s ever going to come back,” he said.
A short-term treatment
Sergei Guriev, an economics professor and professor at Sciences Po in Paris, said these efforts show that Russia’s economy can make adjustments and continue, at least for now. “Although it is not easy to replace Western technology, quality, management practices and business models, in the short term, you can copy them and … produce a substitute,” Guriev told CBC News via audio message. A worker is seen removing part of a sign from a McDonald’s restaurant in Moscow in June. The burger giant exited the Russian market this year. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images) “No wonder that’s happening. How good are these substitutes—well, they’re not great, but they’re sustainable in the short term.” Olga Kamenchuk, an associate professor at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research, said a poll conducted by the Levada Center in 50 Russian regions in May shows that people there are not particularly worried about the effects of Western brands leaving the country. “The majority of Russians, I must say, don’t care that much,” Kamenchuk said in a telephone interview. A more limited poll by Levada, conducted on the streets of Moscow in June, found that residents concerned about the issue put Ikea, McDonald’s and Zara at the top of the list of brands they were most worried about seeing go. A woman walks past closed H&M and Zara stores in a shopping center in Moscow in April. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images) Kamenchuk said that for many Russians, the products sold at Ikea were “a bit expensive,” despite the perception that it is a relatively affordable consumer brand in North America. The outcome of these brands exiting Russia can vary greatly for individuals, depending on their circumstances. “Some Russians don’t notice it; for some Russians, it’s a disaster,” Guriev said. Guinness beer and Nespresso coffee capsules are two examples of consumer products that Reuters reports are no longer on store shelves. Some Russians say essential goods, including some medicines, are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, the news agency reported.
The wider impact
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Yale’s Sonnenfeld, along with colleagues and students, have compiled a detailed list of companies that have curtailed their operations in Russia. A file photo from March shows a long line outside the entrance of an Ikea store in St. Petersburg, Russia, shortly before the retailer prepared to suspend business in the country. (Dmitri Lovetsky/The Associated Press) They say these companies’ combined investment in Russia “represents the lion’s share of all accumulated, active foreign investment in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.” Sonnenfeld said most of these companies did not do a significant part of their global business in Russia, and that lessens the pain of lost investment there. “This has not had a lot of consequences for companies in terms of their top line,” he said. Referring to the data gathered at Yale, Guriev said the investments these companies have made in “factories, stores, warehouses” remain. Similarly, the investments made in the people who worked for these companies, in terms of training and skill development, remain in Russia if the workers do not leave. “The most important impact [of the exit of foreign companies] it’s not that you can’t produce hamburgers in Russia,” Guriev said. Instead, he said, the biggest problem for Russia’s overall development is a lack of access to Western resources, including capital, supplies and technology.
title: “Western Brands Still Dominate In Russia Even If They Copy Their Niche Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-06” author: “Monique Davis”
However, the Vkusno & tochka shop in Moscow’s Pushkin Square is serving burgers, just like it did during its golden days, according to reports from its opening. It’s no longer McDonald’s because the burger giant abandoned the Russian market in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, ending a three-decade streak that began in 1990. “It was this great symbol of the opening of the Soviet Union to the West,” says Kristy Ironside, an economic historian at McGill University who is working on a book about the fast food company’s experience in the Russian market. WATCHES | A Western business exodus from Russia begins:
Russians fear the country is retreating as foreign businesses leave
As foreign companies like McDonald’s suspend or pull out of Russia and local authorities crack down on dissent, many residents fear their country is moving backwards. Before going through what McDonald’s called a “deforestation process” in Russia, the chain had built a network of more than 800 stores and employed more than 60,000 people there. How long its Russian-made replacement will last is unknown, but it’s not the only clone of the brand vying to exploit the void of Western competition. Amid public and political pressure, more than 1,000 foreign companies have halted operations in Russia to varying degrees since the start of the war in Ukraine, according to a database maintained by Yale University researchers. Familiar-looking fast food offerings appear on a plastic tray in June on the opening day of a new restaurant in Moscow that used to be a McDonald’s. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters) But Russia’s tensions with the West have not dampened consumer appetites for foreign goods and services — as evidenced by some of the copycat businesses that have sprung up since their departure. “Many of these Western brands represented a defiant position against Russian product, against the Soviet era of repression,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale University management professor who has chronicled the actions foreign companies have taken in response to the Ukraine war. “So by buying the local good, it will be inferior and give nothing of the brand.”
A familiar look
In addition to the not-quite-McDonald’s restaurants, there’s a newly launched takeaway coffee and soon-to-be-sold soft drink provider that have made headlines for their similarities to prominent Western brands. More brand imitators may appear. Stars Coffee opened its first restaurant in Moscow to the general public with the slogan “Bucks are gone, stars are left.” (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images) In the case of Stars Coffee, the logo’s commonalities overlap with Starbucks — although the co-owner of the Russian venture told Reuters “apart from the circle, you won’t find anything in common” between them. Regardless of its brand, Sonnenfeld said people who buy coffee there won’t get the same product. “This is a cheap, diluted knock-off that is not going to fool anyone – especially a Russian consumer,” he said. Copycat attempts and brand infringements can be general concerns for Western companies at any time, but Sonnenfeld said what is happening in Russia could be harmful to the country’s long-term business interests. “If they don’t show respect for intellectual property, nobody’s ever going to come back,” he said.
A short-term treatment
Sergei Guriev, an economics professor and professor at Sciences Po in Paris, said these efforts show that Russia’s economy can make adjustments and continue, at least for now. “Although it is not easy to replace Western technology, quality, management practices and business models, in the short term, you can copy them and … produce a substitute,” Guriev told CBC News via audio message. A worker is seen removing part of a sign from a McDonald’s restaurant in Moscow in June. The burger giant exited the Russian market this year. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images) “No wonder that’s happening. How good are these substitutes—well, they’re not great, but they’re sustainable in the short term.” Olga Kamenchuk, an associate professor at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research, said a poll conducted by the Levada Center in 50 Russian regions in May shows that people there are not particularly worried about the effects of Western brands leaving the country. “The majority of Russians, I must say, don’t care that much,” Kamenchuk said in a telephone interview. A more limited poll by Levada, conducted on the streets of Moscow in June, found that residents concerned about the issue put Ikea, McDonald’s and Zara at the top of the list of brands they were most worried about seeing go. A woman walks past closed H&M and Zara stores in a shopping center in Moscow in April. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images) Kamenchuk said that for many Russians, the products sold at Ikea were “a bit expensive,” despite the perception that it is a relatively affordable consumer brand in North America. The outcome of these brands exiting Russia can vary greatly for individuals, depending on their circumstances. “Some Russians don’t notice it; for some Russians, it’s a disaster,” Guriev said. Guinness beer and Nespresso coffee capsules are two examples of consumer products that Reuters reports are no longer on store shelves. Some Russians say essential goods, including some medicines, are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, the news agency reported.
The wider impact
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Yale’s Sonnenfeld, along with colleagues and students, have compiled a detailed list of companies that have curtailed their operations in Russia. A file photo from March shows a long line outside the entrance of an Ikea store in St. Petersburg, Russia, shortly before the retailer prepared to suspend business in the country. (Dmitri Lovetsky/The Associated Press) They say these companies’ combined investment in Russia “represents the lion’s share of all accumulated, active foreign investment in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.” Sonnenfeld said most of these companies did not do a significant part of their global business in Russia, and that lessens the pain of lost investment there. “This has not had a lot of consequences for companies in terms of their top line,” he said. Referring to the data gathered at Yale, Guriev said the investments these companies have made in “factories, stores, warehouses” remain. Similarly, the investments made in the people who worked for these companies, in terms of training and skill development, remain in Russia if the workers do not leave. “The most important impact [of the exit of foreign companies] it’s not that you can’t produce hamburgers in Russia,” Guriev said. Instead, he said, the biggest problem for Russia’s overall development is a lack of access to Western resources, including capital, supplies and technology.
title: “Western Brands Still Dominate In Russia Even If They Copy Their Niche Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-26” author: “Steven Schaeffer”
However, the Vkusno & tochka shop in Moscow’s Pushkin Square is serving burgers, just like it did during its golden days, according to reports from its opening. It’s no longer McDonald’s because the burger giant abandoned the Russian market in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, ending a three-decade streak that began in 1990. “It was this great symbol of the opening of the Soviet Union to the West,” says Kristy Ironside, an economic historian at McGill University who is working on a book about the fast food company’s experience in the Russian market. WATCHES | A Western business exodus from Russia begins:
Russians fear the country is retreating as foreign businesses leave
As foreign companies like McDonald’s suspend or pull out of Russia and local authorities crack down on dissent, many residents fear their country is moving backwards. Before going through what McDonald’s called a “deforestation process” in Russia, the chain had built a network of more than 800 stores and employed more than 60,000 people there. How long its Russian-made replacement will last is unknown, but it’s not the only clone of the brand vying to exploit the void of Western competition. Amid public and political pressure, more than 1,000 foreign companies have halted operations in Russia to varying degrees since the start of the war in Ukraine, according to a database maintained by Yale University researchers. Familiar-looking fast food offerings appear on a plastic tray in June on the opening day of a new restaurant in Moscow that used to be a McDonald’s. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters) But Russia’s tensions with the West have not dampened consumer appetites for foreign goods and services — as evidenced by some of the copycat businesses that have sprung up since their departure. “Many of these Western brands represented a defiant position against Russian product, against the Soviet era of repression,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale University management professor who has chronicled the actions foreign companies have taken in response to the Ukraine war. “So by buying the local good, it will be inferior and give nothing of the brand.”
A familiar look
In addition to the not-quite-McDonald’s restaurants, there’s a newly launched takeaway coffee and soon-to-be-sold soft drink provider that have made headlines for their similarities to prominent Western brands. More brand imitators may appear. Stars Coffee opened its first restaurant in Moscow to the general public with the slogan “Bucks are gone, stars are left.” (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images) In the case of Stars Coffee, the logo’s commonalities overlap with Starbucks — although the co-owner of the Russian venture told Reuters “apart from the circle, you won’t find anything in common” between them. Regardless of its brand, Sonnenfeld said people who buy coffee there won’t get the same product. “This is a cheap, diluted knock-off that is not going to fool anyone – especially a Russian consumer,” he said. Copycat attempts and brand infringements can be general concerns for Western companies at any time, but Sonnenfeld said what is happening in Russia could be harmful to the country’s long-term business interests. “If they don’t show respect for intellectual property, nobody’s ever going to come back,” he said.
A short-term treatment
Sergei Guriev, an economics professor and professor at Sciences Po in Paris, said these efforts show that Russia’s economy can make adjustments and continue, at least for now. “Although it is not easy to replace Western technology, quality, management practices and business models, in the short term, you can copy them and … produce a substitute,” Guriev told CBC News via audio message. A worker is seen removing part of a sign from a McDonald’s restaurant in Moscow in June. The burger giant exited the Russian market this year. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images) “No wonder that’s happening. How good are these substitutes—well, they’re not great, but they’re sustainable in the short term.” Olga Kamenchuk, an associate professor at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research, said a poll conducted by the Levada Center in 50 Russian regions in May shows that people there are not particularly worried about the effects of Western brands leaving the country. “The majority of Russians, I must say, don’t care that much,” Kamenchuk said in a telephone interview. A more limited poll by Levada, conducted on the streets of Moscow in June, found that residents concerned about the issue put Ikea, McDonald’s and Zara at the top of the list of brands they were most worried about seeing go. A woman walks past closed H&M and Zara stores in a shopping center in Moscow in April. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images) Kamenchuk said that for many Russians, the products sold at Ikea were “a bit expensive,” despite the perception that it is a relatively affordable consumer brand in North America. The outcome of these brands exiting Russia can vary greatly for individuals, depending on their circumstances. “Some Russians don’t notice it; for some Russians, it’s a disaster,” Guriev said. Guinness beer and Nespresso coffee capsules are two examples of consumer products that Reuters reports are no longer on store shelves. Some Russians say essential goods, including some medicines, are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, the news agency reported.
The wider impact
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Yale’s Sonnenfeld, along with colleagues and students, have compiled a detailed list of companies that have curtailed their operations in Russia. A file photo from March shows a long line outside the entrance of an Ikea store in St. Petersburg, Russia, shortly before the retailer prepared to suspend business in the country. (Dmitri Lovetsky/The Associated Press) They say these companies’ combined investment in Russia “represents the lion’s share of all accumulated, active foreign investment in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.” Sonnenfeld said most of these companies did not do a significant part of their global business in Russia, and that lessens the pain of lost investment there. “This has not had a lot of consequences for companies in terms of their top line,” he said. Referring to the data gathered at Yale, Guriev said the investments these companies have made in “factories, stores, warehouses” remain. Similarly, the investments made in the people who worked for these companies, in terms of training and skill development, remain in Russia if the workers do not leave. “The most important impact [of the exit of foreign companies] it’s not that you can’t produce hamburgers in Russia,” Guriev said. Instead, he said, the biggest problem for Russia’s overall development is a lack of access to Western resources, including capital, supplies and technology.
title: “Western Brands Still Dominate In Russia Even If They Copy Their Niche Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-15” author: “Brian Dehart”
However, the Vkusno & tochka shop in Moscow’s Pushkin Square is serving burgers, just like it did during its golden days, according to reports from its opening. It’s no longer McDonald’s because the burger giant abandoned the Russian market in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, ending a three-decade streak that began in 1990. “It was this great symbol of the opening of the Soviet Union to the West,” says Kristy Ironside, an economic historian at McGill University who is working on a book about the fast food company’s experience in the Russian market. WATCHES | A Western business exodus from Russia begins:
Russians fear the country is retreating as foreign businesses leave
As foreign companies like McDonald’s suspend or pull out of Russia and local authorities crack down on dissent, many residents fear their country is moving backwards. Before going through what McDonald’s called a “deforestation process” in Russia, the chain had built a network of more than 800 stores and employed more than 60,000 people there. How long its Russian-made replacement will last is unknown, but it’s not the only clone of the brand vying to exploit the void of Western competition. Amid public and political pressure, more than 1,000 foreign companies have halted operations in Russia to varying degrees since the start of the war in Ukraine, according to a database maintained by Yale University researchers. Familiar-looking fast food offerings appear on a plastic tray in June on the opening day of a new restaurant in Moscow that used to be a McDonald’s. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters) But Russia’s tensions with the West have not dampened consumer appetites for foreign goods and services — as evidenced by some of the copycat businesses that have sprung up since their departure. “Many of these Western brands represented a defiant position against Russian product, against the Soviet era of repression,” said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale University management professor who has chronicled the actions foreign companies have taken in response to the Ukraine war. “So by buying the local good, it will be inferior and give nothing of the brand.”
A familiar look
In addition to the not-quite-McDonald’s restaurants, there’s a newly launched takeaway coffee and soon-to-be-sold soft drink provider that have made headlines for their similarities to prominent Western brands. More brand imitators may appear. Stars Coffee opened its first restaurant in Moscow to the general public with the slogan “Bucks are gone, stars are left.” (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images) In the case of Stars Coffee, the logo’s commonalities overlap with Starbucks — although the co-owner of the Russian venture told Reuters “apart from the circle, you won’t find anything in common” between them. Regardless of its brand, Sonnenfeld said people who buy coffee there won’t get the same product. “This is a cheap, diluted knock-off that is not going to fool anyone – especially a Russian consumer,” he said. Copycat attempts and brand infringements can be general concerns for Western companies at any time, but Sonnenfeld said what is happening in Russia could be harmful to the country’s long-term business interests. “If they don’t show respect for intellectual property, nobody’s ever going to come back,” he said.
A short-term treatment
Sergei Guriev, an economics professor and professor at Sciences Po in Paris, said these efforts show that Russia’s economy can make adjustments and continue, at least for now. “Although it is not easy to replace Western technology, quality, management practices and business models, in the short term, you can copy them and … produce a substitute,” Guriev told CBC News via audio message. A worker is seen removing part of a sign from a McDonald’s restaurant in Moscow in June. The burger giant exited the Russian market this year. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images) “No wonder that’s happening. How good are these substitutes—well, they’re not great, but they’re sustainable in the short term.” Olga Kamenchuk, an associate professor at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research, said a poll conducted by the Levada Center in 50 Russian regions in May shows that people there are not particularly worried about the effects of Western brands leaving the country. “The majority of Russians, I must say, don’t care that much,” Kamenchuk said in a telephone interview. A more limited poll by Levada, conducted on the streets of Moscow in June, found that residents concerned about the issue put Ikea, McDonald’s and Zara at the top of the list of brands they were most worried about seeing go. A woman walks past closed H&M and Zara stores in a shopping center in Moscow in April. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images) Kamenchuk said that for many Russians, the products sold at Ikea were “a bit expensive,” despite the perception that it is a relatively affordable consumer brand in North America. The outcome of these brands exiting Russia can vary greatly for individuals, depending on their circumstances. “Some Russians don’t notice it; for some Russians, it’s a disaster,” Guriev said. Guinness beer and Nespresso coffee capsules are two examples of consumer products that Reuters reports are no longer on store shelves. Some Russians say essential goods, including some medicines, are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, the news agency reported.
The wider impact
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Yale’s Sonnenfeld, along with colleagues and students, have compiled a detailed list of companies that have curtailed their operations in Russia. A file photo from March shows a long line outside the entrance of an Ikea store in St. Petersburg, Russia, shortly before the retailer prepared to suspend business in the country. (Dmitri Lovetsky/The Associated Press) They say these companies’ combined investment in Russia “represents the lion’s share of all accumulated, active foreign investment in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union.” Sonnenfeld said most of these companies did not do a significant part of their global business in Russia, and that lessens the pain of lost investment there. “This has not had a lot of consequences for companies in terms of their top line,” he said. Referring to the data gathered at Yale, Guriev said the investments these companies have made in “factories, stores, warehouses” remain. Similarly, the investments made in the people who worked for these companies, in terms of training and skill development, remain in Russia if the workers do not leave. “The most important impact [of the exit of foreign companies] it’s not that you can’t produce hamburgers in Russia,” Guriev said. Instead, he said, the biggest problem for Russia’s overall development is a lack of access to Western resources, including capital, supplies and technology.
