McDonald's India to open 180-190 restaurants by 2015

Fast-food chain McDonald's India today said it plans to open 180-190 company-owned restaurants by 2015 with an estimated investment of up to Rs 570 crore.        

"We have 157 restaurants now and we plan to open 180- 190 company-owned restaurants by 2015, including between 30 to 40 this year," McDonald's India Managing Director Amit Jatia said here.        

Jatia said it generally takes around Rs 3-crore investment to open a restaurant. Existing restaurants are also owned by the US-headquartered company. McDonald's India has presence in 30 cities, he said, adding all the proposed restaurants would come up in the cities where the company already has outlets.        

The company would fund the proposed investment through a mix of internal accruals and debts. However, the ratio would be decided later on, he said. Jatia said the company expects sales to grow by 35 per cent this year. It had recorded around the same level of growth in 2008, as well.        

McDonald's India, he said, employs over 5,000 people now and as the proposed new restaurants are opened up, the total headcount should go past the 12,000-mark.        

"We generally employ 40 people in a restaurant," Jatia said.  Delhi and Mumbai are the two biggest markets for the company in terms of sales, while cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore are also fast catching up, he said.        

McDonald's India plans to open seven new restaurants in Bangalore this year, he said.Declining to disclose the company's total sales, Jetia said McDonald's India caters to 3-4 lakh customers in a day across the country.

Delhi and Mumbai are the two biggest markets for the company in terms of sales, while cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore are also fast catching up, he said.    

McDonald's India plans to open seven new restaurants in Bangalore this year, he said. Jetia said McDonald's India caters to 3-4 lakh customers in a day across the country.