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18.11.2009

Burger King to open first Russian outlet in 2009

Burger King, the world's second biggest hamburger chain, plans to open its first Russian restaurant in Moscow this year, lured by the potential of the country's 140 million population. "We are still under negotiations with different parties. We are hoping to open soon. The plan is to open by the end of this calendar year," spokeswoman Andrea Ungereit-Hantl said.

Bigger rival McDonald's will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the opening of its first Russian restaurant next year, but Russia is still considered under penetrated by fast-food chains.

Ungereit-Hantl said Burger King was looking to cooperate with multiple franchise partners in Russia but would not say how many restaurants the company aimed to open.

"It's an interesting market. It's a big country, it's attractive and developing. It's the country where Burger King should be," she said.

McDonald's, which currently has about 300 restaurants in Russia, saw Russian sales rise 20 percent in 2008 and has said it expected Russia to remain its fastest-growing market despite the economic crisis.

A spokeswoman for Swedish furniture retailer IKEA said that a Burger King restaurant was expected to open in one of its Moscow Mega malls before the end of 2009 and that the space was leased by Russia's Kolobov Group, which also develops the Shokoladnitsa coffee shop chain in Russia.

Source: Reuters.com

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