This Week in Business How Geopolitics Is Hitting Local Gas Stations
Feb 20, 2026
Serguei Netessine, Wharton professor of operations, information, and decisions who studies operations management and platform business models. He explains how sanctions on a major oil owner ripple through local gas stations. Short takes cover franchise ties, banking and card-processing breakdowns, reputational harm from logos, legal limits on switching providers, and why divestment and rebranding can be the cleanest fix.
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Local Operators Caught By Parent Company Moves
- Lukoil built its U.S. footprint by acquiring existing station networks and leaving local operators running community businesses.
- That creates a reputational flashpoint when parent-company geopolitics collide with local franchises.
Logo Drives Perception More Than Fuel Origin
- The gasoline at these stations is typically refined in the U.S., not in Russia.
- Yet customers judge by the logo, making reputational risk drive purchasing behavior more than product origin.
Banks And Franchises Squeeze Franchisees
- Stations rely on card payments for roughly 85–90% of sales and banks can cut acceptance when they perceive sanction risk.
- Franchise agreements also restrict switching banks or processors, squeezing franchisees between compliance and contract risk.