As the world's top restaurant chain aims to grow sales in China after being hit by a fast-food scandal in 2014, McDonald's Corp plans to launch 150 custom outlets in the country.
The outlets would allow clients to purchase customized burgers to suit their tastes.
Regina Hui, senior director of communications for McDonald's China said that the US based global burger chain currently has 11 such outlets on the mainland which includes cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Beijing.
She also disclosed the plans for the 150 restaurants in an emailed reply to the media on Thursday.
Adding momentum to a global recovery for the chain as demand picked up in China, McDonald's beat analyst forecasts for quarterly same-restaurant sales this week.
In what is the second straight quarter of growth after four quarters of falling sales, the sale of the company in its same-store sales in China rose 4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015.
According to a Reuters analysis of available data although same-restaurant sales for KFC and Pizza Hut remain below pre-scandal levels, McDonald's and Yum Brands Inc, the parent of KFC and Pizza Hut, are slowly turning things around in China.
Customers would be allowed to build customized burgers from a wide selection of ingredients in the so-called 'Create Your Taste' outlets.
Despite analysts claiming that the local diners are increasingly tough to win over due to greater health awareness and a boom in the range of available dining options, this is exactly the group who have reportedly given "very positive feedback" about the chain, Hui said.
"They like the taste of burgers, the digital experience and the table service," said Hui.
A turnaround plan that was launched last year by McDonald's Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook involved making the menu simpler, improving service times and raising worker wages.
The Shanghai Daily reports that McDonald would target the lower tier cities and customer's online experience for expansion plans. There are reports that the company would also push for digital ordering for made-to-order burgers through its online platform.
The new stores will be situated in third and fourth-tier cities, said the chief executive officer of McDonald's China, Phyllis Cheung.
"Within two to three years, we hope mobile ordering and other digital capabilities would cover all of our restaurants in China, and we will also launch our proprietary smartphone application for ordering by the end of this year," the CEO said talking during a media interview.
The 4 percent growth in revenue for the company from the more than 2,200 outlets in China is comparable to a 5-percent increase on a global scale, said president and CEO, Steve Easterbrook.
"Experience of the future" flagship restaurant was launched by McDonald's China in Wangfujing Street, Beijing. Using the store's official WeChat account for ordering, customers are able to customize their burgers and get them delivered to their homes.
Cheung pointed out that there are plans to transform the existing stores into concept one as a way of reaching out to a wider consumer base amid increasing concerns about China's declining economic growth.
(Source:www.shanghaidaily.com & www.reuters.com)
The outlets would allow clients to purchase customized burgers to suit their tastes.
Regina Hui, senior director of communications for McDonald's China said that the US based global burger chain currently has 11 such outlets on the mainland which includes cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Beijing.
She also disclosed the plans for the 150 restaurants in an emailed reply to the media on Thursday.
Adding momentum to a global recovery for the chain as demand picked up in China, McDonald's beat analyst forecasts for quarterly same-restaurant sales this week.
In what is the second straight quarter of growth after four quarters of falling sales, the sale of the company in its same-store sales in China rose 4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015.
According to a Reuters analysis of available data although same-restaurant sales for KFC and Pizza Hut remain below pre-scandal levels, McDonald's and Yum Brands Inc, the parent of KFC and Pizza Hut, are slowly turning things around in China.
Customers would be allowed to build customized burgers from a wide selection of ingredients in the so-called 'Create Your Taste' outlets.
Despite analysts claiming that the local diners are increasingly tough to win over due to greater health awareness and a boom in the range of available dining options, this is exactly the group who have reportedly given "very positive feedback" about the chain, Hui said.
"They like the taste of burgers, the digital experience and the table service," said Hui.
A turnaround plan that was launched last year by McDonald's Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook involved making the menu simpler, improving service times and raising worker wages.
The Shanghai Daily reports that McDonald would target the lower tier cities and customer's online experience for expansion plans. There are reports that the company would also push for digital ordering for made-to-order burgers through its online platform.
The new stores will be situated in third and fourth-tier cities, said the chief executive officer of McDonald's China, Phyllis Cheung.
"Within two to three years, we hope mobile ordering and other digital capabilities would cover all of our restaurants in China, and we will also launch our proprietary smartphone application for ordering by the end of this year," the CEO said talking during a media interview.
The 4 percent growth in revenue for the company from the more than 2,200 outlets in China is comparable to a 5-percent increase on a global scale, said president and CEO, Steve Easterbrook.
"Experience of the future" flagship restaurant was launched by McDonald's China in Wangfujing Street, Beijing. Using the store's official WeChat account for ordering, customers are able to customize their burgers and get them delivered to their homes.
Cheung pointed out that there are plans to transform the existing stores into concept one as a way of reaching out to a wider consumer base amid increasing concerns about China's declining economic growth.
(Source:www.shanghaidaily.com & www.reuters.com)
