Introduction:After Starbucks exited the Russian market due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, its 130 stores were taken over by the local hospitality group Pinskiy&Co. This article provides a detailed breakdown of the acquisition process, the new brand’s direction, including the launch of the first store in August and plans to expand to over 200 stores by September, while exploring the brand’s repositioning and market challenges, bringing you up to speed with the latest changes in Russia’s coffee market.
The future of Starbucks in Russia has finally become clear. Since suspending operations in March and officially announcing its exit in May, the brand’s 130 stores in the country had remained idle for a long time, until late July when new developments emerged: Timati, a well-known Russian rapper, revealed on social media that Pinskiy&Co had completed the acquisition of Starbucks’ Russian assets. Although the new brand has not yet announced its name or logo, it plans to open its first store in August and expand to over 200 outlets by September.
What are the key details behind this acquisition? And how will the new brand plan its market strategy? The following is a complete overview of the events. As early as March 8, Starbucks announced the suspension of its business in Russia citing the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Just over two months later, on May 24, it further decided to completely exit the market, leading to the closure of all its stores and the departure of employees after receiving six months’ worth of salary.
The turning point came on July 9, when Russian media reported that Pinskiy&Co was interested in taking over Starbucks’ assets and reopening the stores, though the deal had not yet been finalized. It wasn’t until the evening of July 30 that Timati personally confirmed on Instagram that Pinskiy&Co had officially completed the acquisition process, although the exact amount was not disclosed. It is understood that the deal was jointly funded by Anton Pinsky, founder of Pinskiy&Co, and Timati, and the two will also jointly manage the business going forward.
Timati emphasized that the new brand will not completely overturn the original image, but will invite the public to participate in naming and logo design, with the goal of creating a more appealing localized experience than the original brand. He revealed that the first store will open in August and that over 200 stores will greet customers with high-quality interiors by September.Anton Pinsky subsequently also confirmed the news on social media, stating that the new name and brand identity system are still under discussion.
Notably, as early as June, due to the impact of the war, Starbucks’ former CEO Kevin Johnson publicly condemned Russia’s actions and announced the cessation of local franchising and the donation of related proceeds. After exiting the market, its 130 stores closed and employees received six months of compensation. In early July, Anton Pinsky of Pinskiy&Co took over the business, but the details of the transaction were not made public at the time.
Looking back, Pinsky revealed that he had actually reached out to the original owners to propose an acquisition as early as March when Starbucks suspended operations in Russia. Now that the deal has been successfully completed, “it proves that our offer was the most suitable.” Market analysts had previously estimated the transaction amount to be between 1.6 billion and 3 billion rubles, but considering exchange rate fluctuations, the actual amount may have been lower.
This acquisition puts Starbucks in the footsteps of McDonald’s — which rebranded as “Vkusno i tochka (Just Like That)” and reopened on June 12. Similarly, Starbucks’ new brand will also make its debut with a fresh look. Following the opening of the first store in August, the market will focus on its naming, brand identity, and expansion strategy, which are definitely worth keeping an eye on.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
