Vkusno & Tochka: New name, same menu

Just under one month after McDonald’s decided to pull out of Russia completely, the fast-food giant’s former stores are re-opening under the Vkusno & Tochka name (which translates as “Tasty – Full Stop”).

On Sunday, 15 restaurants in Moscow and the surrounding region re-opened with the same menu of burgers, fries and ice cream, but the names have changed, so no more Big Macs or McFlurrys etc. (McDonald’s has said it will keep its trademarks in Russia and will take steps to enforce them if necessary.)

In the same vein, the packaging is neutral: “no word, no letter” should remind customers of the McDonald's group, general manager Oleg Paroyev told the Moscow Times.

Why it matters

The 850 McDonald’s restaurants in the country have been taken over by the brand’s erstwhile Siberian franchisee, who expected to open another 50 rebranded restaurants on Monday and a further 50-100 a week in coming months. Longer term there are plans to re-open all 850 and to expand the total to 1,000 within 5-6 years.

McDonald’s has a particular significance in Russia, as it was the first American restaurant brand to open a store there, attracting tens of thousands of customers who queued for hours on a cold January day in 1990 to sample the delights of Western fast food. The brand’s presence helped raise standards of both food and service in the country.

It was symbolic of the dawn of a new post-Cold War era; its departure is similarly symbolic of the new isolation in which Russia finds itself. It could also herald more rebranding exercises as more Western brands sever their ties to Russia.

Sourced from Tass, Moscow Times, Financial Times, The Independent