By Patrick Villalobos, Contributor

FAST-FOOD giant McDonald’s Philippines is investing around P600 million to P750 million to open 15 new stores this year, according to one of its top executives.

McDonald’s Philippines Managing Director Margot B. Torres said that building each outlet could cost between P40 million to P50 million. 

“We are carefully reviewing our expansion plans given the situation,” she said, referring to the ensuing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

The number of upcoming branches is less than the original target since the company needs to adjust its plan due to the health crisis, per McDonald’s Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth S. Yang. 

“That’s something we have to continue to assess as time goes [by], and let’s see how the economy will be able to sustain additional growth from the business,” he said during their online press briefing last week. “So we are flexible and ready to accelerate our growth once the circumstances allow.”

 Currently, there are 668 McDonald’s stores nationwide. The new outlets in the pipeline will bring its total network of fastfood chain to 683.

Torres said that all of the new branches the quick service restaurant chain will open for the entire year of 2020 will be following the NXTGEN format, adding to its over 140 concept stores nationwide.

Even before the Covid-19 had spread to become a pandemic worldwide, this format  featuring self-ordering kiosks and cashless transactions already had promoted indirect contact or physical distancing between the staff and customers.

Now that 93 percent of McDonald’s stores is back in operations, the firm remains committed to ensure the safety of its patrons and employees.

 With the recent resumption of dine-in services due to lockdown relaxation, it constantly introduces digital innovations to continue providing its signature food offerings either within its restaurants or at the customers’ residences. 

“While we have reopened our doors for dine-in, and as we gain the confidence of our consumers with our elevated measures, we also acknowledge that a large population of Filipinos still choose to eat at home. Because of this, the omni channel approach that we have prioritized since 2011 has become very relevant today in making our products more accessible to consumers while ensuring their safety,” Torres said.