Yum group said that they are pausing their company-owned KFCs in Russia. But, “Nearly all of Yum’s roughly 1,050 Russian locations are operated by franchisees.” In some countries, the majority are company owned, while in others, the majority are franchises. And that decision is taken by the head office, based on business risk, political risk, or currency risk. In this case, nearly all of Yum’s stores are franchisees, and only a percentage of these would be KFC, as Yum also includes Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, The Habit Burger Grill, and WingStreet. Therefore, Yum agreeing to close company-owned stores is just a signal, not an action which has negatively impacted Russia.
Papa John’s also suspended corporate operations, and said that they are no longer receiving royalties from the franchisees. In this case, shutting down costs them nothing, since they are no longer being paid. More virtue signaling.
#economy #russia #ukraine #yum
