McDonald's to open more restaurants in North

New Delhi:McDonald's India is moving up North and will soon open outlets in Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Vikram Bakshi managing director, McDonald's India and joint venture partner for the northern region said "The expansion plan will involve an investment of Rs400 crore and a total of 100 outlets in the country." After its nine-year long operations in India, McDonald's India is set to make a net profit this year and the expansion plans according to the company would drive 50 per cent of its growth.

The company plans to add 14 family restaurants, four McDonald's express and six McDonald's kiosks this year to its current strength of 70 restaurants in the country.

"We even plan to start home delivery services in Chandigarh from June this year. We plan to enter Himachal by the beginning of next year by opening outlets on the Kalka-Shimla and Kullu-Manali national highways," Bakshi added.

Public convenience places such as national highways, expressways, airports, railway stations are some of the targeted spots for our outlets" he added.

McDonald's quick service restaurants (QRS) format exist in different forms at various locations. While family restaurants serve the entire menu, McDonald's express sticks offer a limited menu and are largely located in food courts, while McDonald's kiosks serve just the beverages and desserts in places such as petrol pumps among others. Home Delivery is offered at 23 restaurants out of the 45 in North India.

Bakshi, "The Indian QSR industry is expected to grow at a rapid pace. To establish ourselves as a volume-driven mass marketer, we are focusing on high quality, affordability and penetration and introduction of new formats including home delivery," he said.

McDonald's India is a locally-owned company, managed by two Indian joint venture partners. While restaurants in the northern region are owned and managed by Bakshi under Connaught Plaza Restaurants, Amit Jatia has the JV for the western region under Hardcastle Restaurants.

McDonald's has a chain of 30,000 restaurants across 120 countries and plans have 100 restaurants in India by the end of 2006. So far, the Indian venture has seen investments of Rs800 crore.