McDonald's The Maharaja Mac of Transit Retail

While McDonald’s serves as a great example of successfully Indianising a global brand, it is also an insightful case study in strategically making transit retail work

- Shiv Joshi

McDonald's introduced Indian masses to the American fast food-burgers, enticing them to include the western food in their meals. Over the years, Westlife Foodworld Ltd. (WFL), which operates McDonald's restaurants in West and South India, through its subsidiary Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. (HRPL) set an example for international brands of successfully Indianising a global brand. At the same time, it emerged as an inspiring case study in strategically leveraging the benefits of transit hubs and making transit retail work for a business.

The company has a master franchisee relationship with McDonald's Corporation USA, through the latter's subsidiary. WFL operates restaurants through various formats and brand extensions. These include drive-thrus, McCafé's, 24x7, McDelivery, McBreakfast and dessert kiosks. The company is aiming for a 15%-18% contribution of McCafé to its business by 2027, it said in its July 2024 earnings presentation.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2024, WFL, which is a listed entity, reported sales of ₹616 crore, a 0.3% year-overyear increase.

With Travellers, Everywhere

Think about it. Whether one is travelling by road, train, metro or an airplane in India, isn't there always a McDonald's nearby? The burger chain, which opened its first restaurant at Bandra in Mumbai back in 1996, has ensured that it is strategically present across all transit hubs, including major highways, airports and around bus stands in some format or the otherDrive-Thru, McCafé or a standalone store. When driving long distances, the golden arches are unmissable from a kilometre away.

Counted among the early movers in the transit retail segment, McDonald's started opening large stand-alone stores near major highways in the early 1990s when India's road infrastructure revolution began.

It continued to be present as the country's airport infrastructure evolved too.