With an eye on expansion in the northern region, McDonald’s is set to open at least 20 more outlets, mostly on the national highways.

It currently has around 55 restaurants and four food courts in the region, of which a major part consists of the area in and around Delhi.

“Although we have opened 55 restaurants in north India, we have planned to add at least 20 more in the northern region, preferably on the national highways,” said Dickey Malhotra, director (projects).

He said the company had made alliances with BPCL for the markets in Mathura, Doraha, and New Delhi, and the brand had ushered in new formats such as an Express Model with a limited menu, a kiosk model that offered desserts and beverages only and home delivery.

Asked why the company was concentrating on the northern region only, Malhotra said in the western and southern regions, the brand had joint ventures with Hard Castle Restaurant Private Ltd and Golden Kitchen Private Ltd, respectively, and in the eastern region the company would open its first outlet in Kolkata very shortly.

For the company, which gets 50 million customers every day internationally, and over 350,000 customers per day in India, finding quality supplies was a major problem, he said, adding McDonald’s’ suppliers included Amrit Foods, Vista Processed Foods, Dynamix Dairies, Trikaya Lettuce and Mrs Bectors Speciality Foods.

Talking to Business Standard, Vikram Bakshi, managing director, Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt Ltd (McDonald’s, North India), said, "Currently, we have a very limited presence in Punjab, but we are looking at major expansion in the next couple of years. We are trying to understand the market and are conducting studies on Tier III towns.”

“We are growing at a compounded growth rate of 40 per cent annually and expect 100 per cent increase in our turnover every three years. As far as growth is concerned, we are looking at a number of options like expanding through alliances with oil companies, airports, malls, etc. Currently all the outlets are company-owned and to fuel growth, we may adopt the franchise route also.”

Talking about his plans to for the region, he said the markets are changing very dynamically and every place is a distinct story from the other. In India, seventy per cent of the menu has been revised to cater for Indian needs, he said, citing McAloo burger as an example. He added that such changes would continue according to the requirements.

As for pricing, Bakshi added, "We are targeting the middle class and above and our menu also reflects that. The prices for some items are as low as Rs 20. There is a huge market for this segment in the whole of north and the fast food market is really catching up very fast."

(www.business-standard.com)