© REUTERS
The American fast food chain McDonald’s will buy back its 225 branches in Israel. The well-known chain has reached an agreement on this with local franchisee Alonyal. The restaurants are hit by calls for boycotts due to the war in the Gaza Strip.
Source: BELGA
Yesterday at 6:12 am
The boss of Alonyal Limited, Omri Padan, “announced on Thursday that an agreement has been signed to sell Alonyal to the McDonald’s group,” the American company said in a statement. The amount of the transaction, which is subject to “certain conditions” and should be completed in the coming months, was not disclosed.
Alonyal signed its first licensing deals with McDonald’s more than three decades ago. More than 5,000 people work in the restaurants. The American group assures that all Alonyal restaurants will be retained and that employees will continue to work under similar conditions. “McDonald’s remains committed to the Israeli market,” said Jo Sempels, CEO of McDonald’s global franchises.
Impact in Muslim countries
When presenting the annual results for 2023 on February 5, McDonald’s management acknowledged that sales suffered from the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the radical Palestinian movement Hamas. The chain has become an attractive target after the franchisee in Israel announced in November that it would distribute free meals to soldiers.
According to McDonald’s, the impact of the conflict is mainly felt in the countries in the Middle East. But the multinational also struggles in a number of other Muslim countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, and in countries with a significant Muslim community, such as France.