By IANS,
Kolkata : McDonald’s India plans to spend Rs.1 billion to open 15 more restaurants here over the next three to five years.
Vikram Bakshi, managing director of Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt. Ltd., a partner of McDonald’s India (north and east region), said two restaurants would be opened this year.
It opened a 3,700 square feet restaurant Wednesday at Mani Square on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, close to the city’s IT hub.
The company is now working on refurbishing its Park Street outlet, its first in Kolkata which was wrecked in a blast last August. McDonald’s hopes to open it before Durga Puja, the biggest festival in the region.
“Among the upcoming two outlets, one would be a mall kind and the other would be a drive-through format,” Bakshi said.
The company is also conducting detailed study to weigh the business potential of other towns in West Bengal, mostly in business belts such Durgapur, Asansol, Siliguri and Darjeeling.
Bakshi’s company manages McDonald’s business in northern and eastern India, whereas another partner, Hardcastle Restaurant Pvt. Ltd, takes care of the west and the south.
McDonald’s will invest Rs.4 billion over the next three years to expand nationally, of which Rs.1 billion was earmarked for the eastern region, Bakshi said.
It plans to fund the expansion through equity, revenue from operations, and debt.
With a year-on-year growth of 30-35 percent the company plans to double its sales every three years, he said.