McDonald's pushes for expansion to cope with aggressive competition

Fast-food restaurant operator McDonald’s Romania, which owns a network of 55 restaurants, is resuming the aggressive growth strategy it previously applied from 1995 through to 1999 by opening 10 restaurants throughout the entire country each year, given the increase in competition on the fast-food market, as a result of the expansion of the KFC chain and Burger King’s entrance. “We want to reach 150 restaurants in 2015 because the market is constantly growing and Romanians’ purchasing power is improving more and more. There is a certain anxiety worldwide caused by the increase in food prices but the Romanian market is not affected at the moment,” believes Cristian Savu, the company’s communication manager. This expansion plan means that the company could open up to 15 restaurants each year, as it did in 1997. Over the last few years, McDonald’s only took care to refurbish the restaurants it already has and opened a small number of restaurants, no more than three a year.