Connaught Plaza Restaurants Ltd (CPRL), the franchise holder for McDonald’s in the North and East regions, has announced its intention to double the number of its McDonald’s outlets and upgrade existing ones in the next three years, with an investment of INR 400-600 crore. Currently, the company operates 170 McDonald’s restaurants.
Rajeev Ranjan, MD, McDonald’s India-North and East said, “The quick service restaurant sector is expected to grow at about 15-16 per cent CAGR over the next couple of years. There are very few sectors that will be growing at this pace. While there are macro-economic challenges such as inflationary pressures in the short term, we are pretty optimistic about the long-term future.”
He emphasized the factors driving the expansion of the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry, specifically noting the changing dietary habits of consumers, as well as the significant increase in disposable income which has resulted in heightened expectations and aspirations.
“Currently, we operate 170 restaurants. We plan to double this number over the next three years. We will be putting investments of about INR 400-600 crore for adding new restaurants as well as modernising the existing restaurants. We are looking to tap into opportunities in tier-2 towns, highways among others,” he added.
McDonald’s has been revamping its restaurants globally by introducing the “Experience of the future” (EOTF) concept. This design includes modernized interiors, kiosks with advanced technology, and a greater emphasis on table service.
“All our restaurants will be modernised to the EOTF format over the next two years,” Ranjan said.
In addition, the company is placing its bets on the McCafe format.
“McCafe presents a big opportunity. We expect to have 25 per cent of our outlets to be on McCafe format by the end of the year offering the full range of hot and cold coffee, shakes and baked food products. We would like it to be see as a brand within McDonald’s with high coffee credibility,” Ranjan explained.
On inflationary pressures, he said, ”We are growing ahead of the pre-pandemic numbers. We had taken price hikes last year and we keep evaluating the environment. We are also working with our supply partners to leverage economies of scale,” he added.