The Kazakh franchisee of US quick meals large McDonald’s, Meals Options KZ, has suspended the operation of all its eating places “on account of restricted native provides”.
Kazakhstan’s 24 McDonald’s eating places had been shuttered on November 18. Meals Options KZ has supplied no particulars on the scope of the availability restrictions and has not indicated when the shops may reopen. Native information company NG.kz reported that employees at a McDonalds restaurant within the metropolis of Kostanay claimed the suspension would solely final two weeks.
Native provide points might be associated to disruption confronted by regional provide chains following the outbreak of Russia’s battle in Ukraine in late February. Kazakhstan has historically relied on lots of its imports transiting by way of Russia.
After McDonald’s exited Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine, Vkusno i Tochka (Scrumptious, Full Cease), a Russian chain that has tried to begin its personal burger eating places utilizing the American quick meals model’s abandoned McDonald’s shops, rapidly encountered provide points. At one level, prospects had been knowledgeable there have been no french fries because the McDonald’s stock Vkusno i Tochka was relying upon, not less than in its early days, ran out. It’s not out of the query {that a} comparable challenge has arisen on the Kazakh department of McDonald’s.
If the suspension in Kazakhstan seems to be a prelude to a everlasting McDonald’s shutdown, Vkusno i Tochka may take an curiosity in stepping in to fill the void. The Russian chain not too long ago introduced its intention to enter the Belarusian market, although Belarus is a distinct case to Kazakhstan in that it’s, like Russia, beneath heavy Western sanctions given its help for Russia’s battle in Ukraine.
McDonald’s in Belarus has suffered repeated issues with card funds this 12 months as a result of disconnecting of all main Belarusian banks from SWIFT. After the Belarusian authorities imposed a brand new value regulation system in October, McDonald’s in Belarus eliminated 14 merchandise from its menu, citing provide chain points.
Kazakhstan’s McDonald’s shops don’t face challenges associated to world cost methods.
Meals Options KZ belongs to an ally of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakh businessman Kairat Boranbayev, who was detained in March on embezzlement fees. Nazarbayev has misplaced his energy and affect within the nation following the “Bloody January” civil unrest that broke out nationwide in the beginning of the 12 months. It’s unclear whether or not political components might be associated to the closing of McDonald’s in Kazakhstan.
The closure announcement got here proper earlier than the November 20 snap presidential vote on the weekend, which noticed Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev win by a landslide. The January unrest concerned violent assaults on many buildings. There’s some hypothesis that the McDonalds suspension was launched to make sure the shops had been shuttered and secured through the election interval.
