Starbucks in Russia

History

2024: Senator Arsen Kanokov's son's company buys 8% of Stars Coffe coffee chain from former Starbucks vice president

Diamond Consulting, owned by Albert Kanokov, son of Senator Arsen Kanokov, acquired an 8% stake in the Stars Coffee coffee chain from former Starbucks vice president in Russia and Kazakhstan Ernesto Gonzalez. The deal was concluded on July 29, 2024, as a result of which the share of Diamond Consulting in Arena LLC, the management company of Stars Coffee, increased to 29.2%.

According to the publication RB.ru, after the transaction, Ernesto Gonzalez left 2% in the company. Arena LLC is the successor to the American Starbucks chain in the Russian market, continuing to develop coffee shops under a similar Stars Coffee brand.

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Stars Coffee

The Stars Coffee network was created after Starbucks left the Russian market. Initially, the Sindika company Arsen Kanokov was mentioned among the buyers, but in the end the structure of his son became the owner.

Ernesto Gonzalez, formerly Starbucks "vice president for Russia and Kazakhstan, continued with the new network as a managing partner. He brought with him a significant portion of the team from the departed Starbucks, including the chief operating officer, the territorial manager and more than 50 coffee shop managers.

Gonzalez reported that in a short time, the team managed to restart about 90-95 points out of 110 inherited from Starbucks. He noted that they needed to launch a new company with a new brand as soon as possible.

In an impressive time - only 3.5 months - it was possible to restart 90 points, which was a record for the Russian market. There was no such pace of business restart earlier in Russia, "said Ekaterina Mileenkova, founder of the consulting agency Level Up Consult.[1]

2022

Sale of Russian assets for 0.5 billion rubles

The Starbucks coffee chain in Russia was sold for 500 million rubles, said Anton Pinsky, co-owner of the chain under the new Stars Coffee brand, in June 2023.

We bought essentially a closed business that did not bring profit. The Starbucks chain said it was withdrawing from Russia. Her clients went for coffee elsewhere. We had to return them, - he said in an interview with TASS.

In this regard, it was decided to invite Timati to partners (real name - Timur Yunusov). Pinsky explained that his name is known in the segment of niche restaurants, but not for the general public. For the new business, he needed a "powerful additional marketing element," which Timati became, the businessman added. According to Pinsky, he is responsible for operational work, and Timati is responsible for marketing and PR.

Pinsky also noted that several points had to be closed due to lease conditions. At the same time, the new owners of the chain began to open coffee shops in new places, as well as sell franchises. The average check in coffee shops increased from 430 rubles to 580 rubles "due to the expansion of the assortment," he stressed.

I think the money spent on the acquisition and restart of assets will be returned before the end of [2023]... In terms of profit and turnover, we are now doing much better, - concluded the restaurateur (the interview was released on June 13, 2023).

Coffee became softer, he said, as Starbucks had a dark roasting problem that caused the drinks to mustard.

And they didn't do very well with food due to the fact that all thirty thousand cafes around the world offered the same set. We added diversity, and raised the price to the level of inflationary correction, - said Anton Pinsky.[2]

New Starbucks owners in Russia

In mid-July 2022 Russian , business buyers became known. Starbucks Co-owners of the coffee chain are restaurateur, founder of Pinsky & Co Anton Pinsky, Timur Yunusov (Timati) and Senator Sindika Arsen Kanokov's company.

Pinsky told Forbes about this. According to him, he turned to the former owners of the coffee chain with a proposal for a deal back in March 2022.

The new owners of Starbucks in Russia have become known

Шаблон:Quote 'Judging by the fact that we are closing the deal now, we made the right offer, - Anton Pinsky told the publication. In July 2022, Vedomosti, citing a source, reported that Anton Pinsky would buy a Starbucks business in Russia. According to the experts of the publication, the value of the transaction may range from 700 million to 3 billion rubles, depending on its conditions and the availability of a discount. According to the publication, the new owner will have to rebrand.

According to restaurant investor Alexander Sysoev, Pinsky's company will acquire "the most interesting places," the list of which will not include points in shopping centers.

According to the Telegram channel Mash without citing sources in mid-July 2022, the new owners will receive the right to lease 130 premises of the network, about two thousand employees worked there. The branded logo of coffee shops and technology will be prohibited. The name will also be changed - Izvestia claims that the new Starbucks may be called VKCoffee. However, Pinsky's representative in a conversation with RBC said that the name of the new establishments and symbols by July 15, 2022 are in development.

The president of the Sindika group, Oleg Eskindarov, confirmed to RBC that the transaction to buy the asset is in the final stage. He clarified that Sindika, Pinsky and Timur Yunusov will jointly buy both rental rights and Starbucks equipment. At the same time, partners will not receive trademarks.

"The brand is leaving," concluded Eskindarov. [3]

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