Story By: Ana Marjanovic, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
McDonald’s new Russian owners have put up a list of new names for the burger chain after the fast-food giant pulled out of the country over the war in Ukraine.
The fast-food chain announced on 20th May that they had sold nearly 850 restaurants to Russian billionaire Alexander Govor after closing stores in response to the invasion.
Now the new owners have submitted a series of potential new names to the Russian patents office, Rospatent.
Russian news site RBC stated they had seen the documents sent to Rospatent, and reported that potential name changes include ‘The Same One’, ‘Fun and Tasty’, ‘Open Checkout’, and ‘The Only Way’.
A McDonald’s spokesperson told RBC: “We are working on creating a new brand and have already sent applications for the registration of several names. In the future, one of all registered names will be selected.”
As part of the sale of the company’s 32-year operation in Russia, Govor has reportedly agreed to continue paying all 62,000 workers.
Meanwhile, it was announced that the restaurants would be rebranded and netizens have been giving their opinion on what the new name should be.
A poll on Russian social network Telegram, held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, showed that ‘McDuck’ – a slang term for the fast-food chain in Russia – was one of the most popular options.
However, RBC reported that the American chain had already trademarked McDuck in the US, meaning it is unavailable for use.
The report also said that other terms such as McCafe, McFlurry and Big Mac are also trademarked by McDonald’s and are unavailable for use in Russia.
One Twitter user’s suggestion caught the eye amid Russia’s ongoing ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine.
Netizen ‘Andrew Brown’ said the new Russian brand should be called “McGenocide” with the current slogan altered to “I’m killing it”.
McDonald’s opened in the Soviet Union in 1990 and was viewed as a symbolically significant development during the final months of the Cold War with huge queues formed around the block for its opening.
