McDonald’s, IKEA announce investments in Ukraine

McDonald’s Ukraine announced on June 2 that it is not
altering its plan to open five new restaurants in Ukraine this year, despite
the coronavirus pandemic. “We have postponed the reconstruction of restaurants,
but have directed our efforts towards opening more new restaurants. We didn’t
reduce the amount of openings. We are changing the prioritizing based on the
situation that is happening today,” the company general director Yulia
Badritdinova told a press conference. “We have very ambitious plans for the
next year to open certainly not less than in the previous year. In 2019, we
invested in Ukraine more than UAH 500 mln and will continue to invest no less in
the current year.”

Swedish furniture manufacturer IKEA announced in
mid-May that it launched an online store in Ukraine, but suspended its
operations 11 days later owing to its inability to fulfill home deliveries,
limiting them to its two pick-up points in Kyiv. Then in a June 1 statement, it
cited technical difficulties for inability to relaunch the website. “Making a
purchase now isn’t possible, particularly in Kyiv too. We have technical
problems, but we will resolve them. Everything will work in the nearest future,
during the week,” the company said in a press release, as reported by the
epravda.com.ua news site. Pick-up points have been set up at Auchan and Metro
Cash & Carry, while a retail outlet is planned for opening in the coming
weeks.

Zenon Zawada: These developments indicate that the economic recession under way
hasn’t affected large, corporate retailers operating in Ukraine, which are
still optimistic about business conditions. Such global chains, with
well-developed brands and products, operate in markets with largely inelastic
demand, giving them an enormous business advantage. Ukraine’s economic problems
will mostly affect SMEs, as well as exporters hurt by falling prices for their
raw commodities on the global market.