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Westlife Development Ltd, which operates McDonald’s in Western and Southern India is looking to invest ₹800-₹1,000 crore in the next 3-5 years to drive future growth for the brand. The investments will be used to open about 200 additional restaurants and revamp existing stores with enhanced digital capabilities such as self-ordering kiosks and table services. The American fast-food brand which is one of the first brands to introduce Indians to the western quick service restaurant (QSR) experience has completed 25 years of operations in the country this year .
Westlife Development Ltd currently operates about 305 McDonald’s restaurants through its subsidiary Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt Ltd.
Amit Jatia, Vice-Chairman, Westlife Development said, “Over the next three to five years, we will look to grow our restaurant base quite significantly. We intend to invest between ₹800-1,000 crore during this period to drive the entire restaurant growth strategy piece. The investments will also be used to revamp our existing restaurants in line with the ‘Experience of the Future (EOTF) concept’ which brings in new elements to the restaurant experience to meet evolving consumer needs.”
EOTF model
Currently about 85 restaurants are modelled on the brand’s global EOTF model and in the next couple of years almost all the restaurants will be revamped, the company said. “One of the key pillars of growth besides addition of new restaurants, is to make our existing restaurants more relevant for various consumption occasions. By adding the curated coffee business with addition of McCafe and launching the fried chicken offerings, we have significantly expanded the addressable market for the brand. We believe this will help increase average unit volume (average sales per restaurant per year) in terms of incremental sales from existing restaurants significantly in the coming years,” he added.
The quick service restaurant segment has witnessed swift recovery post the second Covid wave, due to a stronger focus on deliveries and takeaways. The organised players such as McDonald’s also gained during this time as consumers turned to trusted brands during the pandemic. “Over past few years, we have been making considerable investments in technology for the delivery business and have been ahead of the curve. This omni-channel strategy has really worked to our advantage during the pandemic with initiatives such as contactless deliveries. The deliveries business continues to see strong growth as consumers have got used to ordering online. Overall, we are on a strong footing when it comes to recovery trends across cities,” he added.