Indian fast food restaurant holding company Westlife Development is reportedly planning to open

25-30 new McDonald’s units in 2021-2022.

Owned by Westlife, Hardcastle Restaurants is the master franchisee of McDonald’s restaurants for
western and southern India.

The company expects its business to return to pre-Covid-19 levels from next quarter. It will open
three new stores this quarter with plans to add 25-40 units every year from the next fiscal year.

Approximately 60% of the new stores are scheduled to be launched in six major cities, which are
Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad, while the rest are being planned
in smaller towns.

Westlife Development vice-chairman Amit Jatia said: “If the momentum of consumer confidence
continues, we will achieve, and hopefully, exceed pre-Covid-19 levels in the next two-three
months.”

Jatia also said that the company will continue to expand in the coming quarters through the in-
store business while convenience channels will remain in place.

Jatia added: “Convenience channels are here to stay. For occasional use for the restaurants, where
people used to come for hangouts and celebrate, this was not being met and that need is coming
back. It would not take away business from the convenience channels.”

According to Jatia, the company almost reached pre-Covid-19 numbers in December last year.

Westlife currently runs 304 McDonald’s stores across 42 cities in the western and southern India.

Last April, McDonald’s launched a unique work from home (WFH) policy for its restaurant
management team and frontline crew amid Covid-19.

In January last year, McDonald’s entered a partnership with Zomato for food delivery in the northern
and eastern regions of India.

McDonald’s partners with Zomato for

food delivery in India
Fast food restaurant chain McDonald's has entered a partnership with
Zomato for food delivery in the northern and eastern regions of India.
McDonald’s stated that the partnership will help it to further expand the
availability of its products through Mc Delivery in these two regions.

Under the partnership, customers will be able to order McDonald’s food

items on Zomato and get them delivered to their homes.

one of India’s leading online food delivery platforms, making it even more
convenient for them to enjoy their favourite McDonald’s menu items.”

Zomato COO Mohit Sardana was also quoted by the news agency, saying:
“It is absolutely wonderful to partner with a brand that revolutionised the
Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) segment in our country.”

The new service is available at more than 125 McDonald’s restaurants in

the northern and eastern regions of India.

McDonald’s India is ensuring that food reaches customers without being

touched by bare hands and delivered safely with adequate social
distancing measures.

Westlife Development, the company that owns and operates McDonald’s

restaurants in West and South India through its wholly-owned subsidiary, has
launched contactless delivery service to deliver food to the customers’
doorstep. According to the company, McDonald’s India is ensuring that food
reaches customers without being touched by bare hands and delivered safely
with adequate social distancing measures.

“Our customers’ safety has been and will continue to be our top priority. On
one hand, we have doubled up the safety and hygiene processes at our
restaurants and on the other, we are ensuring contactless delivery to uphold
consumers’ trust in McDonald’s. Both our consumers and the industry look up
to McDonald’s for path-breaking initiatives, and contactless delivery is our way
of reassuring them that with us, they are in safe hands,” said Smita Jatia,
managing director, Hardcastle Restaurants.

The crew member who assembles the food, the one who packs food and the
runner do not touch the food with bare hands and take all possible precautions
to ensure hygiene. The packets are sealed and delivered by a runner who
drops the order at a pre-appointed spot outside your door and then watches
from a safe distance while you retrieve your order and go back inside,
McDonald’s unveils WFH policy for
employees in west and south India
07 Apr 2020

McDonald’s has launched a unique work from home (WFH) policy for its
restaurant management team and frontline crew in the west and south
India due to the nationwide lockdown imposed by the government to
combat Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Westlife Development, the decision is aimed at keeping the team productively engaged
and ensure that they continue to learn and grow despite the lockdown

The company has adapted many of its classroom training modules digitally and
introduced e-learning modules, quizzes, masterclasses by managers and many
more creative learning sessions, which employees can access on their phone while
in quarantine at home. This initiative by Westlife Development is aimed to make
sure that the team continues to learn and grow even when they are staying home.