‘Fear was never a part of me’

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: Amit Jatia, managing director and joint venture partner, McDonald’s India (west & south), loves selling burgers so much that he will not trade it for anything else at any cost. The eldest of three brothers, Jatia cut his teeth in business (family enterprise) producing and selling specialised lubricants. He also has a real estate company West Pioneer Properties Ltd, which he set up in 2005 for putting up malls and hotels in the country. This company was listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London in 2007. The first “value mall” called Metro Junction was launched this year in Kalyan, a city 30 miles north-east of Mumbai, in Maharashtra. Plans are afoot to set up more such malls in areas that have a large middle class population. Says Jatia, “Malls in India are perceived to be expensive. That’s because most of them have a tenant mix that includes retailers at different ends of the spectrum. We are targeting only value retailers through our malls. That makes the proposition exciting because there are a lot of consumers who want something like this.”

For all his varied interests though, nothing excites Jatia, who has a degree in business administration from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, more than his retail venture: McDonald’s. His Hardcastle Restaurants took up responsibility for setting up McDonald’s outlets in the west and south of India following a joint venture with the multinational corporation in 1995. He was all of 28 when he signed up as a partner. But fear and pessimism never filled his mind. He’s an optimist. “My father gave me full freedom when I was involved in the lubricants business earlier. So, fear was never really a part of me. I was confident I could take the new business forward despite being the youngest JV partner at McDonald’s.”

To give the young entrepreneur company was counterpart Vikram Bakshi, a Delhi-based businessman, whose Connaught Plaza Restaurants had a JV going with McDonald’s for the north and east regions. The two have been responsible for India operations along with the parent. Jatia admits that the tasks are many as owners and managers of McDonald’s restaurants. “There has to be consistency in operations. At the same time, the local culture and flavour has to be borne in mind.”