One of the McDonald's restaurants in Bratislava. (source: Jozef Jakubčo)
Spurred by increased sales over the last few years, McDonald's is planning a huge expansion in Slovakia, with up to 10 restaurants opening a year, reports the Index magazine. The expansion will not be limited to just bigger towns, but is aimed at smaller ones as well.
"Specific locations are being selected by a specialised team of experts from our development department, who evaluate each potential location based on many criteria," McDonald's PR manager for Slovakia and Czechia, Lucia Poláčeková, told Index.
"It is too soon to say which locations will see the opening of new restaurants, but customers from all regions can look forward to visiting us."
This year, the company will celebrate its 30th anniversary in Slovakia. The first McDonald's opened in October 1995 in Banská Bystrica, followed by other regional towns, with Bratislava eventually becoming the main focus.
In 2012, it seemed that the company hit its peak and stopped expansion for 5 years. That changed in 2018 when the company revaluated its position and started opening new restaurant based on the franchise concept. Around that time, there were 30 McDonald's restaurants in Slovakia. Currently, there are 47 with every third in the capital.
The change in policy comes on the back of increasing sales; while in 2014 all of McDonald's restaurants in Slovakia reported a total turnover of around €60 million, in 2023 it was more than €187 million.
