‘Fear was never a part of me’

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: translates into a menu that comprises vegetarian burgers, absence of beef and pork products, separate production and supply channels for vegetarian and non-vegetarian items, etc. These innovations are unique to India. Combine all of this with the company’s fastidiously clean policy and self-help approach at outlets— something it is known for across the world—and it takes the brand up a few notches, claims Jatia.

In a cluttered retail environment, Jatia knows these details count. This is why the company is innovating at various levels not just food alone. For instance, it is aggressive with price points, promotions, combo offers, etc. A McDonald’s Happy Price Menu stands at Rs 20 only and Jatia makes no bones about the fact that it has been so for the last four years. The Family Value Meal, another popular offering, combines burgers, colas and soft toys to woo the family audience, which swells over the weekends. The regular office-going and college crowd anyways troops in on weekdays ensuring that there are adequate footfalls at outlets. “We serve about 300,000 customers a day. Our business is about volumes,” he says.

Playing the volume game implies being on the ball when targeting customers. Jatia is ensuring this by expanding operations beyond the 61 outlets that currently exist in the west and south of India. On a nation-wide basis, McDonald’s has 140 outlets. This number pales in front of neighbouring China, which has about 1,000 restaurants. Further, about 150 outlets are being added ever year in China. But Jatia is not distressed by these figures. “We have to understand where we stand and the business potential that exists here,” he says. In keeping with this he intends adding about 15-20 outlets by the end of this year to take his tally of restaurants to about 75-80. He says, “I don’t think there will be a glut of outlets. The idea is to make ourselves available to as many people as possible. At the same time, we are not setting up restaurants for the sake of it. We realise that commercial viability matters.”

It is commercial viability alone that prevents Jatia from making fancy announcements about new launches. “It doesn’t make sense doing that. We have to understand why we are in the business.”