KFC parent firm Yum! Brands joins long list of companies exiting Russia over Ukraine war

Yum! Brands (YUM) which runs the KFC business in Moscow on Tuesday announced that it was exiting the Russian market after selling the outlet joining other foreign corporations that have pulled out of Russia over its brutal invasion of Ukraine. The US-based global fast-food company Yum Brands announced in a statement that it would completely withdraw from Moscow after the KFC transaction of its business is complete and the restaurants' operations, master franchise rights, as well as the network of franchised restaurants, have been handed over successfully. 

"This builds on the company’s prior actions to suspend operations of all company-owned restaurants, halt all investment and restaurant development efforts, and redirect any profits from Russia operations to humanitarian efforts," Yum! Brands (YUM)  said in a statement. 

"Following completion of the KFC transaction, Yum! Brands intends to fully exit from Russia," it further added.

Transferred ownership of all Pizza Hut franchise

The decision to sell the KFC business in Russia comes after just last month, the company announced that it is transferring the ownership rights of all Pizza Hut franchises to a local Russian operator. The operator, said the company, has started the re-branding tasks and selecting the locations to revamp the Yum! Brands concept altogether. The company also informed that it halted all investment, and restaurant development in at least 1,000 KFC locations in Russia back in March, including at the 50 Pizza Hut outlets. 

Last month, the American fast-food brand McDonald's chain handed over the operations to company Sistema PBO as it exited the country. The Chicago-based fast-food giant pulled out its operations, selling nearly 847 restaurants after almost three decades of operation in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. McDonald's had announced that its "continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald’s values" as it shut the restaurants across Russia. All 847 branches of McDonald’s were reportedly acquired by wealthy entrepreneur Alexander Govor, who owns as many as 25 restaurants in Siberia.

"The humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, and the precipitating unpredictable operating environment, have led McDonald's to conclude that continued ownership of the business in Russia is no longer tenable, nor is it consistent with McDonald's values," the company had announced in a statement.