Parent company of Peet's Coffee remains in Russia, will rename brand despite other Western companies leaving
CEO Fabien Simon sited the need for "enduring solutions" and listed not wanting to unfairly punish their employees in Russia
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Unlike many other coffee shops in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Peet's Coffee is staying put in Russia and digging their heels in for their controversial take to continue their brands' presence in Russia.
The parent company of Peet's Coffee, JDE Peet's, said that rather than altogether quitting their business in Russia they are working on actively shaping a longer-term future in Russia.
"It’s most likely going to be an enduring war, which means we have to take a more enduring solution," said Fabien Simon, JDE Peet’s chief executive officer, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
The CEO of Peet's Coffee says that they are restricting their brand to allow a continued presence in Russia, despite facing backlash from consumers. (Brandon Sloter/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The world’s No. 2 packaged coffee maker, Peet’s Coffee, plan on renaming a major coffee brand in an effort to protect its global reputation.
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Simon noted three reason why the coffee maker has decided to stay put in Russia, despite societal pressures to leave the country for moral reasons.
First, he told the WSJ, coffee and tea are essential products that "sustain health or life."
Porcelain coffee cups with the logo of Peet's Coffee are stacked ready for customer orders. Peet's Coffee has decided to stay in Russia despite many other Western brands pulling out following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. ( Zhang Peng/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Second, JDE Peet’s has 900 employees in Russia who he says would be unfairly punished if it left.
And third, Simon said that if the company were to leave Russia, its brands and intellectual property would likely be seized and given to a third party.
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"We might not have said what people wanted to hear at the beginning, but we are taking a very authentic and honest approach," Simon said.
Two cups of coffee on a table in a Peet's Coffee store, one of which is latte and the other is black coffee. Since 2017 when Peet's Coffee opened its first store in Shanghai, it has opened about 80 more stores in China, and with a double-digit growth (Zhang Peng/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Unlike Starbucks, JDE Peet’s has decided to stay in Russia and create a strategy that cooperates with the many international sanctions in Russia and complex supply chain issues.
At the beginning of March, shortly after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, Starbucks joined a growing list of corporations that suspended all business activity in the country. At the time, then-CEO Kevin Johnson wrote in a letter to employees that the company condemns "the horrific attacks on Ukraine by Russia."
Johnson said the company's licensed partners agreed to "immediately pause store operations" while continuing to support the 2,000 Russian employees "who depend on Starbucks for their livelihood."
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Following Starbuck's departure in Russia, a pro-Putin rapper has reopened former Starbucks coffee shops under a strikingly similar name — Stars Coffee.
Editor’s note: A headline has been changed to reflect that a parent company of Peet’s Coffee remains in Russia.