McDonald's Malaysia targets 20 more Drive-Thru restaurants in 2019

McDonald's Malaysia plans to open 20 more Drive-Thru restaurants in 2019, complementing the 167 Drive-Thru restaurants it currently has today.According to managing director and local operating partner Azmir Jaafar, the Drive-Thru segment has seen "significant growth" since the opening of its first Drive-Thru restaurant at McDonald’s Titiwangsa in 1988. Since then, Drive-Thru window sales contribute nearly 50% of total sales for its 167 Drive-Thru restaurants. Azmir added that in the first quarter of this year, McDonald's saw an average 10% year-on-year growth in its Drive-Thru sales.“By 2021, McDonald’s Malaysia aims for 70 percent of all McDonald’s restaurants nationwide to be Drive-Thru restaurants,” he said. Moving forward, McDonald's also expects a 10% to 15% increase in vehicle count at its Drive-Thru restaurants.The fast food chain recently concluded its Drive-Thru Weekend Challenge held from 26 to 28 April, which saw a total of 473,860 cars riding off with a meal from 167 McDonald’s Drive-Thru restaurants nationwide. In conjunction with the recent Drive-Thru Weekend, McDonald's also launched the Drive-Thru Hero Challenge on its app, encouraging consumers to check in at as many Drive-Thru restaurants as possible. The challenge runs until 30 April and McDonald's will reward the top 10 Drive-Thru Heroes.“We have seen 15 years of success of the McDonald’s Drive-Thru VIP loyalty programme, and we promise greater consumer activation in the future as we continue to improve our operational efficiency," Azmir said.He added: "We are committed to maintaining our market leadership today and confident that we will meet growing consumer needs for a wide variety of great tasting and quality food during any time of the day just by driving-thru McDonald’s."(Photo courtesy: 123RF)