McDonald's India Profile

A Locally Owned Company:

McDonald's is the world's leading food service retailer with more than 33,000 restaurants in 118 countries serving more than 67 million customers each day. In India, McDonald's has two Indian entrepreneurs: Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman, Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd, which has been awarded a Development Licensee status by McDonald's Corporation, U.S.A, spearheads McDonald's operations in West & South India, while McDonald's restaurants in North & East India is managed by Vikram Bakshi's Connaught Plaza Restaurants Private Limited, which is still a Joint Venture with McDonald's Corporation. For Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd ('HRPL'), the transition to a Development Licensee implies a higher level of commitment by McDonald's Corporation as it enhances its trust in the local partner. McDonald's ensures that the evolution to a Development Licensee takes place only after the financial strength, viability, profitability and long - term sustainability of the business is assured. Celebrating over 15 years of leadership in food service retailing in India, McDonald's India now has a network of over 250 restaurants across the country. McDonald's India is a leader in the food retail space, with a presence of more than 250 restaurants serving more than 6.5 lakh customers daily in India. McDonald's India and HRPL in particular has an aggressive expansion plan - including market expansion, new customer outreach formats and menu expansion. With HRPL becoming a Development Licensee in the year 2010, there are strong and robust commitments to investments, expansion and growth. By 2014, HRPL plans to double the number of restaurants it currently has. HRPL is expanding its reach by expanding the portfolio and access points with formats like from kiosks, drive thrus, web-delivery and petrol pumps in addition to the restaurants. In 2012, HRPL plans to open another 35-40 McDonald's restaurants in West and South India.

An Employer of Opportunity:
McDonald's India is an employer of opportunity, providing quality employment and long-term careers to professionals across the country. The average McDonald's restaurant employs 4060 people from crew to restaurant manager. McDonald's invests in its employees, leveraging world class-training inputs to create ambassadors of the brand and creating food service professionals with global outlook. The brand currently has over 10,000 employees in India.

Respect for Indian Customs and Culture:

McDonald's worldwide is well known for the high degree of respect for the local culture of

each market it operates in. In line with this respect for local culture, India is the first country in the world where McDonald's does not offer any beef or pork items. McDonald's has developed a menu especially for India with vegetarian selections to suit the Indian palate, and has also re-engineered its operations to address the special requirements of vegetarians. Special care is taken to ensure that all vegetable products are prepared separately, using dedicated equipment and utensils. This separation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian food products is maintained throughout the various stages of procurement, cooking and serving. So much so that the mayonnaise and soft serves are also 100% vegetarian, and McDonald's uses only vegetable oil as a cooking medium in India.

Quality, Service, Cleanliness & Value (QSC & V):

McDonald's is driven by the philosophy of Quality, Service, and Cleanliness & Value for Money. This translates into a commitment to provide customers high quality products, served quickly with a smile, in a clean and pleasant environment at an affordable price. This effectively means that the McDonald's menu is priced at a value that the largest segment of the Indian consumers can afford, while at the same time ensuring that quality is not sacrificed for value - rather, McDonald's leverages economies to minimize costs while maximizing value to customers.