We went to a McDonalds for dinner this Saturday (we are the wild partying type, see). There is actually a certain infectious energy there. The guys at the counter are buzzing around getting the orders together, they are all high energy amiable types and the vibe was very good. In big cities (especially in good locations) the traffic through US fast food restaurants is huge. If I were in McDonald's management, I'd feel like giving up the boring messy US market (with the activists screaming foul all the time, people starting to eat healthy, lawsuits over hot coffee and vegetarians being served non-veg food) and focus on markets like India. Indians love McD. And for all the pickiness of the average Indian woman about her food, they seem to like american fast food. (Side note -- I fondly remember In-N-Out Burger in California. Now that was a really satisfying burger ) Video below tries to capture the buzz. It was at the McDs in Sigma Mall on Cunningham road.
5 comments:
I think McD's missed the point in India by targetting he yuppies - the ones who eat burgers in India.
The reason McD's boomed in the states are thought to be the following ( a ) aimed at common man and common mans food ( b ) standardized ( c ) clean environment and restrooms ( d ) inexpensive because of volume purchases.
What they missed in India is (a and d). It would have been a lot better if they used their competence in process and quality control to make Indian meals for the average guy. For example, Idlis/Dosas/Poori's at affordable prices (they would have to change their name to a more Indian one, but thats trivial).
The cheapest meal in the States is at a McD's and I speculate that it isnt a bad one when you compare with the quality of a comparable meal anywhere else in the world at purchasing power adjusted prices. I wish they had adopted that philosophy to make food more affordable to a large set of Indias masses.
Arvind
Arvind said - "For example, Idlis/Dosas/Poori's at affordable prices (they would have to change their name to a more Indian one, but thats trivial)"
I think you are off the mark here Arvind. Serving Idlis/Dosas/Pooris does not a McD make and if they had a more Indian name I don't think it would be as popular or as cool. Besides, there are zillions of little tiffin places at every corner serving idlis/dosas and pooris. I went to a pizza hut with my nephews when I was in India and I have to say it was one of the highlights of my trip for me as well as for them:-), way more cooler than pizza hut here.
Any takers?
Ok, Back me up here Babu :-)
Sajini,
In light of your supporting my view at vk-writtenword, I can assure you that there is simply no way you are going to get any back up from Vijay :).
See I disagree with you, about McD's. You mentioned "cool" and thats precisely my point, "cool" gets you access to only a small percentage of the population in cities in India that want to be cool. Instead if they had focussed on efficient and low cost - they can make Indian food at a fraction of the price it is available on the street (because of volume purchases) and with higher quality (because of their expertise with processes) they could have got a huge market like they have in the US. Apparently, 1 out of 8 potatoes in US in consumed by McD's. With that type of penetration in India, they could not only have been succesful financially, they would have lowered food prices for the average guy significantly; ith half hour of minimum wage employment in the US, you can eat a meal at McD's. Thats the real positive impact a food outlet can have, and instead these chains in India are focussing on providing yuppy kids and their foreign returned Aunts, such as yourself, an outlet to feel cool!! :)
Arvind
arvind,
some objections to a) through d).
a) not common man - poor man.
b) standardized. ho hum. please tell me what isn't standardized here? we don't realize the value of uniqueness till we lose it. and when we do we will go around saying this is handcrafted and that has variations etc and pay me more!
c) you can get restrooms anywhere in the u.s. this is not a plus. in india too any decent chain will have a restroom.
d) that mcdonalds is cheap is a COMPLETE MYTH. you CAN get a cheap meal at mcdonalds but your choices will be very very limited. specific stripped down burgers and fries probably. in case you are going wtf - if you want a chicken sandwich it will cost you 5 bucks plus after tax. and it will be tiny. subways is giving away footlong sandwiches at around that price. a recent trip to whitecastle shocked me at how cheap the food there is. truly cheap irrespective of what you buy and in what quantity. and, irrelevant to you, whitecastle is much tastier.
like you did for the oil companies you are now figuring out strategies for mcdonalds - crowning jewel of american capitalism.
more on food.
rajeev patel's "stuffed and starved" seems promising. a recent radio interview showed him to be a sharp, well-traveled and interesting guy.
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