McDonald's eyes faster expansion in lower-tier cities

McDonald's China is expected to speed up its expansion to lower-tier cites to attract new customers and to update its menu with more nutritious and iconic food items, a top executive of the world largest fast-food chain said.

McDonald's China CEO Phyllis Cheung said the company opened 423 new restaurants in China last year and the number of new outlets in 2019 is expected to equal or slightly exceed last year's level. The speed at which those stores are being opened is going to surpass the company's five year goal by 2022 to add 2,000 restaurants from the 2,500 outlets it had in 2017.

Cheung said nearly half of the new restaurants are located in third-or fourth-tier cities and McDonald's will continue to penetrate more cities in their expansion to gain new customers and increase the brand awareness among those potential customers.