Shanghai: McDonald’s Corporation said it is aiming to sell all of its 413 Taiwan-based stores to a franchise operator, as the US fast-food chain looks to cut costs globally and turn around its flagging China business.
The move could help comfort investors who were sceptical and wanted specific details after McDonald’s new chief executive Steve Easterbrook announced a revamp plan in May that included reorganising business units and selling outlets to franchisees.
“McDonald’s has decided to search for suitable candidates to become its developmental licensee in Taiwan,” the company said yesterday. It added the model would enable “faster local decision-making, quicker learning, and restaurant growth”.
A China-based spokeswoman for the company said the burger chain was looking for a single entity to oversee all of the Taiwan stores. She declined to comment further on the move.
The US chain relies heavily on franchises in more mature markets such as the US, but traditionally has focused on self-operated stores in China. It has said previously it is trying to increase the proportion of franchised stores there.
McDonald’s, which has close to 20,000 part-time and full-time staff in Taiwan, is also looking to bounce back from a food-safety scare that hit business in China and the wider region last year.
China’s fast-food market was worth 798 billion yuan ($128.53bn) last year, according to market research firm Euromonitor. Yum Brands’ KFC chain had around 5.1 per cent of the market, ahead of McDonald’s share of 2.6pc.
Easterbrook has said McDonald’s will sell 3,500 restaurants to franchisees by 2018, taking global franchisee ownership to 90pc from 81pc now.
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