McDonald's to roll out 250 outlets in south, west India

Hardcastle India, which runs the south and west franchisee of McDonald's in India, is on in expansion mode ever since McDonald's Corp conferred it with the Development Licensee status. The company now plans to open 30 outlets this financial year, as well as clock 30-40 per cent year-on-year growth.

According to Amit Jatia, vice chairman McDonald's India (west and south), the company has earmarked Rs 500 crore to set up 250 restaurants in south and west India over the next three years, up from 110 restaurants it operates.

He added that the development licensee status will help the chain grow faster and it is working towards that on all possible fronts. "We intend to expand the breakfast service which was launched in select cities last year, to other parts of the country. Also, our home delivery service has become quite popular and we aim to grow on that as well. As far as becoming a convenient and accessible joint for customers is concerned, we plan to open 4550 restaurants across India during 2011, with an investment of Rs 150 crore," Jatia said.

Last month, McDonald's Corp said it was selling its 50 per cent stake in Hardcastle Restaurants (HRPL), one of McDonald's two 15-year-old equal joint ventures that run its outlets in India for an undisclosed amount and converting it into a franchisee operation. This meant that HRPL will have 100 per cent ownership of the operations, thereby allowing it to grow rapidly and sustainably, creating significant present and future opportunities for the expansion of the McDonald's Brand.

Hardcastle Restaurants owns the restaurant chain in west and south India. In northern and eastern part of the country, the chain is owned by Connaught Plaza Restaurants Private Limited. Jatia, however, did not give details about the plans for the north and east. McDonald's is one of largest player operating in the quick serve restaurant (QSR) space The QSR industry in India, which is currently valued at $13 billion, is growing at a rate of 18 per cent annually and McDonald's aims to cash in on the huge potential in this category.

Further, the company said that its main focus right now are the Indian metros. "About 80 per cent of our revenue comes from the metros as they have a larger number of consumer preferring fast foods," Jatia said.