McDonald’s licencee Premier Capital invests €10 million in innovation – all stores to feature self-ordering systems by 2021

Premier Capital plc, the Maltese-owned developmental licencee for McDonald’s in six European markets including Romania, is in the throes of a €10 million investment drive to innovate customer experience in-store and on mobile.
By the end of this year, more than €4.5 million will have been directed towards the implementation of platform integration in 50 existing and new restaurants in the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Greece, Malta and Romania. Platform integration aligns front-of-house self-ordering and payment systems with all-new food preparation processes in the kitchen. Meals are prepared by the crew according to orders made by customers at the new generation kiosks in the restaurant lobby.

Premier Capital currently operates 136 stores employing more than 7,000 people. Last year, more than 105 million customers were served at McDonald’s restaurants operated by the group. Three new stores have opened in Greece, Lithuania and Romania this year, with another five set to open in Lithuania, Romania and Malta by the year’s end.

A platform integration conversion programme is running across Premier Capital’s existing store network concurrently with an ambitious store opening plan. A further €5.5 million will be invested in the systems in more than 65 existing and new stores between 2018 and 2019. All McDonald’s restaurants in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, currently standing at 34 stores, are on track for conversion by the end of 2018. Every McDonald’s restaurant operated by Premier Capital in the six markets will feature platform integration by 2021 when the store network will number close to 200.

Premier Capital is closely following McDonald’s Corporation’s strategy to meet the demands of consumer behaviour, particularly on mobile. The McDonald’s mobile app has been launched by Premier Capital so far in the Baltics, Romania and Greece and is earmarked for launch in Malta in 2018. Close to €0.4 million has been directed towards development and upgrades in an ongoing
investment drive.

The app features a store locator, menu updates, events page, QR code, loyalty programmes and incentives. Besides periodic updates, newer versions will feature enhanced functionality including mobile ordering for drive-thrus and mobile payments in the medium-term.

In Romania, the app saw 80,000 downloads in the first month with total downloads currently standing at 200,000. In the Baltics, downloads to date total 230,000 with an average monthly download rate of 11,000. The app has seen 32,300 downloads since its launch in Greece earlier this year.

“Innovation is transforming all interaction between McDonald’s and its customers,” Managing Director Victor Tedesco said. “It is a key pillar in our plans for all the markets in which we operate, as we work to become ever more customer-obsessed. Our entire team is behind this vision. We are constantly reviewing every detail of the customer experience we deliver in order to maintain and grow our market leadership and bring our business and our customers closer.”

Premier Capital plc is the developmental licencee for McDonald’s in Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Romania. Its current network of 136 restaurants includes several McDrive and McCafe operations, serving more than 105 million customers a year thanks to a staff complement of more than 7,000 people.

Premier Capital plc is the McDonald’s division of Hili Ventures Ltd, the group engaged in multi-sited operations in partnership with  McDonald’s and Apple, logistics, engineering, property and technology.

Present in nine countries in central and  Eastern Europe and North Africa with a team of 8,000 people, Hili Ventures is a proud partner of some big name companies like IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, NCR, Diebold Nixdorf, and many other global brands.

Source: Hili Ventures Ltd