Jamie Oliver is shutting his Jamie’s Italian restaurant and franchise operations in Russia as he joins a raft of Western companies, including major hotel chains, fleeing the country in response to Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine.
A Jamie Oliver Group spokesperson has confirmed the company was exiting its franchise agreement and all operations in Russia will cease trading. The business is scrapping an agreement with franchisee Ginza Project, which will see the Jamie’s Italian restaurant in Moscow remove its branding.
Hotel groups including IHG, Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott International have announced they will suspend future investments, development activity and new hotel openings in Russia as well as close corporate offices in Moscow, but will continue to support staff. Hilton said it would donate any profits from business operations in Russia to the humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine.
In a statement, Marriott said its properties in Russia were owned by third parties, “and we continue to evaluate the ability for these hotels to remain open”.
Hyatt said: “As this complex situation unfolds, we will continue to evaluate our existing management agreements with the third-party entities that own Hyatt hotels in Russia, while complying with applicable sanctions and US government directives, and keeping our purpose of care at the centre of any decision we make.”
Radisson has temporarily suspended new partnerships and new investments. A statement from the company said: “All our Radisson Hotel Group properties in Russia are owned by third parties and we continue to operate in some capacity as we play a key role in supporting employees and local communities.
“While we continue to evaluate the hotel operations in Russia against the backdrop of applicable sanctions and government directives, we remain committed to our people and the communities we serve.”
Kevin Johnson, chief executive of Starbucks, announced earlier this month that the company had decided to suspend all business activity in Russia, including shipment of all Starbucks products, while its licensed partner had agreed to pause store operations and would provide support to the nearly 2,000 employees in Russia.
McDonald’s has decided to temporarily close all its restaurants in Russia and Yum! Brands is suspending operations of KFC company-owned restaurants in the country. At the time of writing, the company was also finalising an agreement to suspend all Pizza Hut restaurant operations in Russia.
A statement from Accor, which has 57 hotels in Russia, said: “Accor has made the decision to suspend all planned openings and all future developments in Russia as well as loyalty partnerships with Russian counter parties. In addition, the group is fully complying with the list of sanctions enforced by the EU, the US and the UK. All management booking distribution loyalty and procurement services to hotels, to which owners are included on this list of sanctions, are suspended.
“However, Accor will continue to operate in Russia in some capacity as the group plays a key role in supporting its 3,500 employees, their families and local communities. In times of turmoil, Accor hotels remain shelters to many people, including foreign citizens, NGOs and media, as has been the case for the past 50 years.”
The celebrity chef’s restaurant company, Jamie Oliver Group, is scrapping an agreement with its franchisee partner Ginza Project, which has operated a Jamie’s Italian in the centre of Moscow for almost a decade.
Ginza this weekend was ordered to strip out all Jamie’s Italian branding from the site and will also be required to shut down all branded social media.
It must also close the Jamie Oliver cookery school in Moscow that has been open for just over six years.
A spokesman for Jamie Oliver said: “We are exiting our franchise agreement and our operations in Russia will cease trading.”
Jamie’s Italian restaurants almost entirely disappeared from UK high streets in 2019 after the business collapsed into administration.
However, there have still been branded restaurants abroad in countries including Hungary, India and Portugal, as well as Russia.
The step to end the franchise deal in Russia puts Mr Oliver as the latest to exit the country following its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
McDonald’s, Starbucks and KFC last week all confirmed they would be pulling their operations, condemning the Kremlin’s actions amid growing pressure from customers who were threatening to boycott brands who continued to keep stores open.
