Westlife Development Appoints Akshay Jatia As Executive Director

Westlife Development Limited, an Indian fast food restaurant holding company—operating as the master franchisee of McDonald’s in India has named Akshay Jatia as Executive Director of the organisation.

In his new role, Akshay will lead the overall business strategy to further strengthen McDonald’s as the food-tech destination of choice across platforms in West and South India.

He will be responsible for the long-term strategy for Westlife as well as the supervision and management of the company’s affairs.

Akshay joined McDonald’s in 2015, and over the last seven years, has worked cross-functionally to drive strategy, operations, marketing, and IT and synergised them to grow the brand.

He has successfully led many business-critical projects.

Commenting on the development, Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman of the Westlife Development said, “Akshay is a strong, dynamic, and values-driven leader and I would like to congratulate him on his promotion. In the past, he has successfully led the Omni-channel strategy and built the delivery system from inception besides spearheading several tech innovations for McDonald’s which has made the brand progressive and relevant for our ever-evolving consumers. I am confident that Akshay’s strengths, new-age thinking, and experience will help in driving our business to its next level of success.”

The company focuses on setting up and operating Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) in India through its subsidiary Hardcastle Restaurants (HRPL).

The company operates a chain of McDonald’s restaurants in West and South India, having a master franchisee relationship with McDonald's Corporation USA, through the latter’s Indian subsidiary.

Speaking on his appointment as Executive Director at Westlife Development Limited, Akshay Jatia said, “I am honoured to have been given this new role at the company, and I look forward to taking the vision of growing McDonald’s into a brand that is equal parts food and technology to the next level. With the team, my goal is to build a transformational business driven by technology and operational excellence and continue serving millions of customers across West and South India more effectively”.

During the pandemic, while McDelivery ensured business continuity, Akshay also led the launch of an innovative new channel On-The-Go, that enabled customers to order food on the McDelivery app and collect it from a pre-designated spot close to the restaurant. This new format became a key growth driver during the lockdown and grew three times in three quarters, bringing new customers to the brand fold.

Akshay holds a Bachelor of Science degree with majors in Finance and International Business from Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University.

He has been recognised as the 21st century Inspirational Icon and bagged the Dedicated Stalwart Award for bringing in the tech revolution at Westlife and McDonald’s.

The company reported a consolidated net profit of INR 15.32 crore in the quarter ended March 2022 as against net loss of INR 6.46 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2021. Sales rose 26.52 per cent YoY to INR 444.02 crore in Q4 FY22.

Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) In India

The Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) market increased at 17.27 per cent during FY 2016- 2020 and is further expected to reach INR 827.63 bn by FY 2025, according to a report published by Research and Market in 2021.  

The sector has gained popularity due to growing eating-out habits, rising disposable income, changing lifestyle, and the online food delivery system’s growth.

Market

OSRs held the highest market share of 54.2 per cent in India’s overall QSR market in financial year 2020. An increase in consumers’ propensity to eat out and a growing number of innovative fast-food chains are the driving factors for chain QSRs segment.

Besides, innovative payment systems and point of sales systems are the primary factors for the growth of the chain QSRs segment in the QSR market. Based on the model, the take-away and home delivery segments are expected to expand at a higher growth rate of around 18.0 per cent and 17.4 per cent, respectively, between the FY2021 and FY2025 as compared to dine-in segment.