McDonald’s Continues India Expansion

McDonald’s Inc. (Oak Brook, Ill.) announced plans to open 40 restaurants in India this year, entering into some new places of northern India, including Jodhpur, Kota and Patiala. Currently, the fast food chain operates 163 outlets in India, among which 87 are in the north and eastern regions. McDonald’s, which entered India 13 years ago, reported a 30 percent growth in 2008 in the country.

Popular menu items with Indian consumers include a vegetarian burger, the McAloo Tikki burger and chicken nuggets. Vikram Bakshi, managing director, McDonald’s India, says some locations have struggled to keep up with demand for nuggets, which has contributed 15 percent to overall sales against an expectation of 8 percent.

Earlier this month, McDonald's announced that global comparable sales rose 5.1 percent in May with same-store sales increasing 2.8 percent in the U.S.; 7.6 percent in Europe; and 6.4 percent in Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa.
“May's strong performance tells us that customers around the world continue to choose McDonald's for the convenience, menu choice, quality and value we offer,” says ceo Jim Skinner.

McDonald's operates more than 32,000 restaurants around the world.