McDonald’s is one of the most iconic fast-food chains in the world, with the franchise having locations in the most obscure places and inside weird locations such as planes or inside the Louvre.
The first opening of a McDonald’s was in 1940 in San Bernardino, California, but it was truly in 1948 where the restaurant was rebranded to what we are more familiar with today.
The rebranding consisted of making the restaurant adequate for mass-producing food at low prices, and that is exactly what happened. After its huge success, thanks to selling burgers at half the price of competitors, the two brothers who founded the restaurant started a franchise program.
In India, which is the location we will be discussing today, the majority of the population is under the age of 35, with 50% of the total population being younger than 25 years of age.
This unbalanced age distribution allows for companies such as McDonald’s Corporation to hit their target audience and make profits easily since younger people do tend to enjoy fast food more.
McDonald’s expanding to places with high ratios of young people also allows for more job opportunities and provides one of the best summer jobs for teens thanks to the low qualifications needed to work in one of their restaurants.
Before we delve into the links between India and McDonald’s, let’s look at a refresher on what a franchise is exactly.
A franchise is made by a company giving a license to someone which allows them to market and trade goods or services. In other words, there is always a franchisee that runs a McDonald’s in a certain location, with the main company being global.
Today we will be looking at all the reasons why opening a McDonald’s franchise in India would be beneficial or not, and answering more questions on how, what, why, and so on.
Table of Contents
Why opening a McDonald’s franchise in India may be beneficial
India has robust partnerships thanks to the booming economy it has reached over the past decade, meaning it is a major economy on a global scale of things.
That being said, the majority of the country’s economy is based on the service sector, which might prove useful for McDonald’s franchises when finding labor.
On the downside, most of that service is farm jobs, so opening such a franchise would be positive to therefore elevate the rate of employment in India.
On the demand side of things, India is ready to devour American culture thanks to it being so popularized. This means there is high demand for things such as McDonald’s, where the food will also be devoured thanks to the iconic status burgers hold in American culture.
The pros and cons of owning a McDonald’s franchise
McDonald’s is dubbed an American symbol by now, and its name has become emblematic due to the value it holds.
The first McDonald’s in India opened in Delhi in 1996 and raked up 430 stores around the country.
Though the company could have had more prosperous growth, the previous owner of the Northern and Eastern Indian locations, Vikram Bakshi, had a feud with McDonald’s that slowed their growth.
Opening a location in India isn’t necessarily a bad idea, with returns on fast food investments having returns sooner than other business types. The issue lies in making burgers seem like a meal rather than a snack, but even if consumers are buying them as snacks, there is profit nonetheless.
Another bonus is the quality, menu, and employee training in all McDonald’s locations are identical, meaning the execution of owning and building up one of their restaurants is uncomplicated and low-risk.
Marketing is also something franchise owners needn’t worry about, since McDonald’s is globally so well-known there isn’t much more to add to that knowledge.
How to open a McDonald’s franchise
Opening a McDonald’s in India entails you spending 30 lakhs INR with 4% royalty fees being sent to the brand every month. In addition, as a future business owner, you should estimate about 6 Crores to 14 Crores for investment.
As for location, there is a minimum requirement of 4000 square feet, and there are four different types of locations ranging from stand-alone buildings to food courts or attached to gas stations.
There are requirements for staff, compliance, investable capital, and so on. After fulfilling the requirements, your tasks ahead will vary depending on which region of India you want to open a location in.
For West and South India, Amit Jatia owns all locations, so discussing business with him is your best bet, whereas the rest of the locations are owned by Sanjeev Aggarwal. These two individuals are the only authorities and representatives of McDonald’s in India.
You fill out an application form, then go on to a phone interview talking with representatives, and lastly, you will go through an examination.
After all those steps, if you get in, you are initiated and informed about everything to then start your own outlet. This isn’t specifically how to find a job quickly, but it is a sure step in owning some form of business.
