A Big Mac is going to be a lot easier to get if McDonald’s makes good on its plans.
The burger chain announced this week it expects to open nearly 10,000 restaurants over the next four years, a pace of growth that would be unprecedented even for McDonald’s.
The Chicago burger giant said at an investor update Wednesday it aims to have 50,000 restaurants in operation worldwide by the end of 2027, the Associated Press reported. McDonald’s had 40,275 restaurants at the start of this year.
It plans to open 900 new stores in the U.S. and 1,900 in international markets with company operated and franchised restaurants like Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and Australia, according to the AP. McDonald’s plans another 7,000 stores in international markets that are operated by licensees. More than half of those stores would be in China.
McDonald’s said the explosive growth of delivery demand makes it critical to get restaurant locations even closer to customers so food can arrive faster and hotter. McDonald’s delivery made up $1 billion in global sales in 2017; that has grown to more than $16 billion.
CEO Chris Kempczinski said new restaurants will likely have dedicated pickup areas for delivery drivers to ease restaurant congestion. But he said it’s important to open actual restaurants and not just delivery-only kitchens.
“Not everybody wants delivery every single meal. Sometimes they want to go to the restaurant with their family,” Kempczinski told The Associated Press in an interview.
Manu Steijaert, McDonald’s chief customer officer, told the AP it took 33 years for the company to open its first 10,000 restaurants; by comparison, it took 18 years to grow from 30,000 to 40,000.
