300 new McDonald's outlets in 3 years; big growth plan in North, East India

The northern and eastern divisions of McDonald's India are all set to double the number of outlets to 300 in three years. The company is also in the process of modernising existing restaurants and has revamped 36 outlets so far. These plans are in keeping with the rise in footfalls, strong customer sentiment and legacy issues.  

McDonald’s India North and East chairman and development licensee Sanjeev Agrawal said that McDonald’s will now focus on markets like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan after streamlining operations in Punjab and Delhi-NCR.    

Agrawal told Times of India, “Our plan is to overhaul 150 outlets in two years.” He also noted that the restaurants are old and that they need to be re-imagined.  

Agrawal was appointed as the new partner to operate McDonald’s outlets in north and east India in 2020. The appointment came almost nine months after McDonald’s bought estranged partner Vikram Bakshi’s 50 per cent stake in Connaught Plaza Restaurants Limited (CPRL) in an out-of-court settlement.  

CRPL has license to run its restaurants in north and east India and operates over 150 restaurants across the region. McDonald’s western and southern India business is led by Westlife Development’s Amit Jatia. At present, Westlife Development operates about 326 McDonald’s restaurants.  

Meanwhile, McDonald’s surpassed market expectations in terms of sales and profit in April-June 2022 as the fast food chain benefitted from steady online demand, new product launches and higher prices. The fast food chain’s global sales rose around 10 per cent in the quarter.