McDonald’s
Sticks With Russia
Russia
is in the midst of a mass exodus of economics. This may seem
strange,
as Russia was once part of a cold war with the United States,but
it is
true. Western companies are leaving Russia to look for business
elsewhere.
Among these businesses are
Dunkin’Donuts,
Pizza
Hut, Ben and Jerry’s, and Boston Cremes.
It seems that none of these businesses were making much money. One
theory
to this fact is that Russian individuals do not have high enough
wages
to afford simple pleasures such as doughnuts. These simplepleasures
have become
scarce in our country due to small wages.
While many businesses pack their bags, McDonald’s keeps pouring inthe
money
with 46 restaurants in all in Russia. The most popular location,in
Pushkin
Square, Moscow, has 20, 000 customers per day. The averageprice of
a
meal there is .9 rubles or $1.35 American. That’s about $27, 000
(18,000
rubles) per day for one McDonald’s outlet. As a result of this
fabulous
business, McDonald’s is indefinitely staying put. "We’vealways
taken
the long-term view that this is going to be a tremendous market,"
states
the head of Russia’s McDonald’s restaurants, Glen Steeves.
The low prices of the food significantly encourages customers. The
average
McDonald’s meal in America would cost about $3.99 or 2.66rubles.
2.66 really
compares to 1.35 rubles.
After learning about McDonald’s tremendous profit, businessman Devon
Mire joked:
"So that’s where all our money is going."