“We plan growth for this year. I cannot give you rates because the situation can change over the course of the year, but I can say we are ready for difficult economic circumstances, too,” says Daniel Boaje, who has been general manager of the fast food chain since 2011
He says he is optimistic thanks to the evolution of the business in the last quarter of 2011.
The last three months of the year also saw the first rises in consumption, according to data of the National Statistics Institute. The advance continued in January, when, according to the institute’s data, retail sales rose by nearly 10%.
“With the exception of February, we can say the year started well for McDonald’s Romania, as well,” the general manager said. Daniel Boaje explains that in February the snow and the freezing weather kept people away from restaurants
“But we managed not to have problems with our product offer,” he added.
The latest financial data available for McDonald’s date back from 2010, when the US giant posted a turnover of 418 million lei (EUR96 million).
“The 2011 turnover was comparable with the one recorded in 2010,” Boaje says.
At the end of last year the manager of the restaurant chain gave assurances the turnover would exceed EUR100 million, but now he refrains from giving exact figures.
More clients to fill seats
The head of the restaurant chain says for this year he expects an increase in the number of customers and not a higher cash receipt.
“The average cash receipt has been relatively steady in the past two or three years. If we want to grow our business we have to boost our customer numbers,” he added.
Last year, McDonald’s had around 140,000 daily customers, who spent around EUR2 in a McDonald’s, according to ZF calculations
Although he admits the economic circumstances are still unpredictable, Boaje says McDonald’s will continue to open restaurants in 2012.
“We will have at least one opening and four restaurant remodelings, a similar rate to the 2011 one.”
McDonald’s has chain of 64 restaurants in Romania.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)