Westlife Foodworld, the master franchisee for McDonald’s in western and southern India, plans to introduce a 20-minute delivery option on its own app to lift sales, as reported by Reuters.
The company aims to lift same-store sales by between 3% and 5% by 2027 through the initiative.
Westlife Foodworld CEO Akshay Jatia stated on a post-earnings call that the strategy is intended to bolster its delivery business and lessen dependence on third-party platforms.
McDonald’s orders are currently fulfilled through its McDelivery app and food delivery platforms Swiggy and Zomato.
Delivery represents around 40% of Westlife’s total sales. The accelerated delivery model has been piloted and has produced strong results.
The franchisee also projected cash generation of between Rs400m and Rs500m ($4.55m to $5.69m) in cash flow in the coming year 2025/26 from new moves.
The move comes as quick-service restaurants face softer demand in India amid higher living costs, particularly in major cities where Westlife has a significant footprint.
Competition from neighbourhood outlets has increased in metro markets.
Rival Jubilant FoodWorks, which runs Domino’s in India, has defied the trend by cutting prices and pledging 30-minute delivery.
For the quarter ended 30 September, Westlife reported an consolidated loss before exceptional items and tax of Rs158.5m, compared with a profit of Rs7.1m year-on-year.
Same-store sales declined 2.8% in the period. Rising input and labour costs pressured margins, with overall expenses up 7%.
Revenue climbed 3.8% to Rs6.42bn, while a single-time gain of Rs581.7m was recorded from the sale of a store property.
In January 2024, Westlife outlined plans to open 300 additional McDonald’s outlets by 2027.
