I think the suggestion is that they are going to remove the branding rights from the franchise owners “de-Arching” them. So there will be no McDonalds branded restaurants in Russia.
What will McDonalds do if Russian franchises/restaurants just keep using the golden arches, menu item names, etc?
Sure they might taste different - but what is McDonalds' recourse? Not sure they can do anything if they've decided to remove themselves from doing business in Russia. Seems similar in situation to the knock-offs in other countries that McD's doesn't do business in.
I assume there's a clause in the franchise agreement covering this sort of thing. If the franchisor decides to exit a market, the agreement probably provides a process to do so.
Not a McD franchisee, but I've been involved in franchise businesses before.
Sure they might taste different - but what is McDonalds' recourse? Not sure they can do anything if they've decided to remove themselves from doing business in Russia. Seems similar in situation to the knock-offs in other countries that McD's doesn't do business in.