XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.food.fast-food, alt.news-media   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns   
   From: investers@burgerking.com   
      
   X  wrote in news:uffniv$36pgm$2@dont-email.me:   
      
   > Socialist corporations like Burger King believe in social   
   > responsibility.  Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!   
   > Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!   
   > Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!   
   > Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!   
   > Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!   
   > Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Right.   
      
   Burger King remains open as usual in Russia despite the brand's owner   
   pledging to leave more than a year ago.   
      
   Restaurant Brands International (RBI), which owns 15% of the fast-food's   
   franchise business in Russia, told the BBC it had "no new updates to share   
   at this time" on its exit.   
      
   The firm said in March 2022 that it had started the process to leave   
   Russia.   
      
   Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Western companies have been   
   under pressure to leave Russia.   
      
   Critics accused RBI of "sustaining Putin's regime" by failing to ditch its   
   stake in its Russian business.   
      
   RBI, one of the world's largest fast-food restaurant companies, has cited   
   its complicated franchise agreement for its difficulty in trying to exit   
   the country.   
      
   The deal is a joint venture with three other partners for some 800   
   restaurants.   
      
   New home-grown chain replaces Starbucks in Russia   
   Burger King Russia partner 'refuses' to shut shops   
   David Shear, RBI's president, said in March 2022 that Burger King's main   
   operator in Russia had "refused" to shut the outlets following the first   
   attacks on Ukraine.   
      
   But he added that the company had "started the process" to dispose of its   
   15% ownership stake and that it would take "some time".   
      
   Asked by the BBC about the progress made 18 months on from the pledge, a   
   spokesperson for the Canadian-American company said the firm had no   
   updates.   
      
   Steven Tian, part of a team of researchers at Yale University who track   
   what companies have done in response to the Ukraine war, argued using   
   franchise agreements as an "excuse" was a "convenient smokescreen". He   
   pointed out that the likes of Starbucks had managed to terminate its deal   
   in the country and exit.   
      
   "Saying they [RBI] want to leave but then dragging their feet is not the   
   same as actually exiting Russia, and by continuing to do business in   
   Russia 18 months into Putin's invasion of Ukraine, they are sustaining   
   Putin's regime," he said.   
      
   The spokesperson for RBI said the company was refusing new investment and   
   supply chain support, and had not made any profits from Burger King in   
   Russia since early 2022.   
      
   'Do the right thing'   
   Mark Dixon, founder of the Moral Rating Agency, which campaigns against   
   firms doing business in Russia, called for RBI to disclose what specific   
   actions it had taken in its attempts to leave.   
      
   "[The firm] should be willing to break its agreement... It needs to accept   
   the legal risk of doing the right thing."   
      
   Franchising is a business method of distributing products or services. It   
   involves a franchisor, a company that has established the brand's name,   
   and a franchisee, a company that pays a fee for the right to do business   
   under the brand and to sell its products.   
      
   It has been a tool used by many Western brands in recent decades looking   
   to enter new markets in different countries. The agreements typically span   
   many years.   
      
   While Burger King remains open for business in Russia, its biggest rival   
   McDonald's, which corporately owned most of its restaurants, has managed   
   to leave the country.   
      
   KFC's parent company Yum! Brands has also sold more than 100 restaurants   
   to a local operator in Russia, which were rebranded as Rostic's in April.   
      
   David Bond, partner at law firm Fieldfisher, said RBI's 15% stake meant it   
   could not simply "dictate terms" to its fellow shareholders to require   
   them to close Burger King branches.   
      
   He also suggested companies that franchise out their brands would be   
   reluctant to simply walk away from deals as it could lead to "dire   
   consequences", including being sued for breach of contract, as well as   
   reputational damage.   
      
   But he said consequences aside, there was nothing stopping RBI from   
   terminating the franchise arrangement if it was adamant it wanted to do   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)