McDonald's gear up for an aggressive expansion plan

McDonald`s India opened their family restaurant in Mani Square Mall at EM Bypass in Kolkata. Spread over a carpet area of 3700 sq ft, this restaurant makes it a total of 137 McDonald restaurants in India. McDonald`s has aggressive growth plans and has planned to invest Rs 400 crore over the next three years nationally of which Rs 100 crore are being invested in the eastern region. 40 per cent of the investment would be for the expansion of the brand and introduction of new formats and 60 per cent would be dedicated towards the back-end operations. The new formats include kiosk and express models in the areas enjoying high footfall like railway stations and airports. Kiosks, spread over 700 sq ft, serve desserts and beverages, while the express models, covering 150-200 sq ft, serve limited menu. Home delivery is also included in the new format. The company is planning for a pan Indian expansion for the aforesaid formats. Easter region is perceived as the potential market for the company. Keeping this in view, the company pans to open four full menu restaurants in tier II & III cities like Durgapur, Siliguri, Asansol & Darjeeling in future. Apart from creating employment opportunities for people in the state, this expansion would also be generating opportunities of local sourcing of certain agricultural products via commercial farming.