KFC, Pizza Hut to leave Russia

Moscow, Jul 5 (EFE).- Yum!, the US owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, announced Tuesday that it would pull out of the Russian market after selling its assets in the country.

“Last month, Yum! completed the transfer of ownership of all Pizza Hut franchise assets to a local operator who has initiated the process of re-branding locations to a non-Yum! concept,” the company said in a statement.

“The Company is also in advanced stages of transferring ownership of its KFC restaurants, operating system and master franchise rights, including the network of franchised restaurants, to a local operator,” it added.

Once the transactions are complete, Yum! said it would leave the country.

The company announced on March 7 that it was halting all investment and development of restaurants in Russia, as well as redirecting all profits from its restaurants in the country to humanitarian aid in Ukraine.

A day later, it announced the suspension of its operations at its KFC and Pizza Hut establishments in Russia.

Yum! joins a list of nearly a thousand international firms that have exited Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, including McDonald’s, Nike, Ikea, Google, Apple, IBM, Lego and Renault. EFE

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