Russian successor of McDonald's wants to enter Kyrgyz market

Bishkek, Dec. 13, 2022 / Kabar/. The Russian fast food chain Vkusno-i Tochka is thinking about entering the Kyrgyz market, Director General of the company Oleg Paroev told TASS. McDonald's shut down all its restaurants in Russia on March 14. On May 16, the global fast food giant, whose share in this market reached 7%, announced its withdrawal from Russia and, through the mediation of the Industry and Trade Ministry, sold the business to Alexander Govor. The chain operates under the brand Vkusno I Tochka (which translates to Tasty and That’s It) and is currently represented in 63 Russian regions. The company has resumed the operation of its restaurants nationwide. At present, more than 840 venues out of 850 are open. Paroev added that the fast food chain is also considering franchising and entering the markets of the CIS countries, as well as other foreign states where McDonald's is not present. "As for the countries where McDonald's is not present, we are happy to consider them. Speaking about the CIS countries, these are Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan," Paroev said. Responding to a question from TASS about which non-CIS countries are being considered, Paroev said, "As for the countries where McDonald's is not present, we can’t say that we are now considering any specific ones." However, he noted that one such large non-CIS country is Iran.