30th anniversary | McDonald’s Macau plans to add three stores this year

John Ho

McDonald’s Macau marked its 30th anniversary yesterday, launching a “McDonald’s Macau 30th Anniversary Memories Playland” at the Science Center to celebrate with the local community.

Open to the public until May 7, the Memories Playland takes customers on a trip down memory lane via the iconic McDonald’s characters on display, set amongst some of Macau’s most well known backdrops.

The area also includes an exhibition of happy meal toys that were made available three decades ago.

McDonald’s Macau opened its first restaurant on Rua do Campo on April 11, 1987.

Currently there are 29 restaurants in the territory.

According to the management, three more restaurants will be added this year, but they have yet to disclose the areas.

Michelle Ho

Michelle Ho, CEO of Golden Burger (Macau) Food Company Limited and Developmental Licensee for McDonald’s Macau, told the press that the addition of restaurants is part of a bid to further expand its business.

“We will continue to grow the business [and] more [will be set up] in the subsequent years,” she revealed.

Combining the Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Macau stores, the firm is currently operating 79 McDonald’s restaurants.

The CEO also stressed that the firm has not seen a plunge in its profit for a decade.

“Our business continues to grow […] We have not seen a decline in our business for over 10 years,” she said.

Also speaking on the sidelines of the event, John Ho, founder and Chairman Emeritus of McDonald’s Macau, told the press that he had no regrets in launching the first McDonald’s in Macau despite the pressure of bringing an American food chain to the then-insignificant territory.

“There were a lot of naysays,” he recalled, adding that the concept of fast food was not popular back then as residents were used to having a three-hour lunch break.

The founder assured the customer base that McDonald’s Hong Kong and Macau acquires some of the best products compared to other Asian countries.

When asked what the differences were in the management of McDonald’s Macau, the chairman briefly said, “No difference, we just do it better.”

The Macau company employs more than 1,200 staff.  Five of them have been working from the very beginning and were awarded at the event yesterday.

Further, over one-third of the management team has a tenure of at least 20 years with McDonald’s Macau.