A Stars Coffee outlet in Moscow's Afimall City shopping centre | Photo credit: Ziran Ling

Russian restaurateur Anton Pinskiy has revealed he paid ₽500m ($5.9m) to acquire Starbucks’ assets in Russia.
 

Starbucks formally exited the Russian market in May 2022 in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February that year.  

Pinskiy and Russian rap artist Timati became co-owners of 130 former Starbucks stores in July 2022 and opened the first Stars Coffee outlet in Moscow the following month.  

Speaking to Russian news agency TASS, Pinskiy said his $5.9m investment to acquire and rebrand Starbucks Russian assets would likely be returned by the end of the year.  
 

Stars Coffee sales recovered in the first quarter of 2023 following a downturn in November 2022, Pinskiy added.

He also revealed that while some Stars Coffee outlets had closed due to lease expirations, the coffee chain had launched in several regions where Starbucks did not have a presence. 

According to its website, Stars Coffee currently operates 100 stores across Russia, predominantly in Moscow and St Petersburg, alongside outlets in Samara, Sochi, Yaroslavl and Ekaterinburg.

Several high-profile food and beverage brands exited the Russian market last year following the  invasion of Ukraine, including Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, with local operators often acquiring their assets for well below market value before loosely rebranding them. 

McDonald’s Russian business, comprising 847 restaurants and 154 McCafé stores, was acquired by local entrepreneur Alexander Govor, who rebranded the locations as the ‘Tasty and That's It’ fast food chain. Meanwhile Russian restaurateur Arkady Novikov launched 30 ‘Krunchy Dream’ cafés on former Krispy Kreme sites in November 2022. 

Additionally, single-use cup and packaging company Huhtamäki sold its operations in Russia, including four manufacturing units, to holding company Espetina Ltd for €151m ($151m) in September 2022 — one of the few companies to disclose the price of sale.

Finnish coffee, beverage and food supplier Paulig also offloaded its Russian business, including a coffee roastery in Tver, to private investor, Mr Vikas Soi, for an undisclosed sum.