McDonald's master franchisee to invest Rs. 750 cr on expansion.

Despite lower footfalls in the quick service restaurant (QSR) segment, HardCastle Restaurants, a master franchisee of McDonald's for southern and western India, is planning to invest Rs. 750 crore to expand the chain over the next three to five years.

The company that already owns 81 stores in the region plans to add another 175-250 stores over this period, Amit Jatia, vice-chairman, HardCastle Restaurants, said.

The planned expansion and investment is despite QSRs seeing lower footfalls on sour consumer sentiments across the country today. This is being reflected in the fewer footfalls and lesser spending on impulsive buys, at beneficiaries like QSRs that are located in high streets and malls.

Spending at QSRs is often an 'impulsive spend' and currently, people are not easily loosening their purse strings with sentiments falling.

'This has meant lower growth for QSRs and it is just part of the business cycle,' said Amit Jatia, vice-chairman, HardCastle Restaurants.


BS