Russian McDonald's successor reopens over 800 restaurants

MOSCOW. Sept 20 (Interfax) - The Vkusno i Tochka chain, the successor of McDonald's in Russia, has reopened more than 820 restaurants that had been shuttered by the U.S. fast food giant, CEO Oleg Paroyev said at a press conference in Moscow.

The results of the first 100 days of operations under the new brand exceeded management's expectations, he said.

"All of these establishments are showing excellent results," Paroyev said, attributing this to the company having "managed to preserve all the best that we had when we worked under the McDonald's brand." This refers to service and product quality, he added.

In addition, the company has almost completely restored the menu, including by working out potato supplies after disruptions, he said.

Restaurants' revenues after reopening are nearing the figures they had under the McDonald's brand, and on some days like-for-like (LfL) sales have even been higher, Paroyev said. He did not disclose the dynamics of revenues.

He also confirmed plans to expand the chain to 1,000 restaurants in three years. The chain now has about 850 restaurants, including franchises.