In the zone

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Racif Fakih.

As managing director of the fast food giant's UAE operation, Racif Fakih faces a thrilling schedule for the next three years, judging by his determined plans for restaurant redesigns, health moves and expansion.

"All of the existing restaurants will be remodelled to feature this modern, warm and spacious look with new colour schemes. We're moving towards the worldwide trend: the casual dining restaurant," he says.

The aforesaid new look has been unveiled at the recently re-opened Jumeirah Beach Road outlet in Dubai, where the company will gauge the impact of its new ‘zoning' strategy, which divides restaurants into designated sections heavily targeted towards families, including party area, flat screen TVs, a second McCafé with its own seating area, main dining area and an activity area.

Revamps to sites and menus will be a key plank in his growth plans, set to incorporate remodelling the existing 48 restaurants by 2010, and giving increased weight to healthy options.

Fakih is eager to hit out at critics of the global chain, and valiantly addresses the vilification of the chain in other markets.

"Misconceptions are often due to the unknown, and we are keen to embark on further social and environmental initiatives, such as offering only water and juices with the Happy Meal, and plans to offer more salads and chicken items," he says.

Negative media coverage has not affected sales in the UAE, however initiatives such as the open door policy - providing back of house tours for customers and in turn ramping up diners' awareness of preparation stages in kitchens -have received favourable feedback from its first 400 participants.

The company's phenomenal growth has been accelerated by concerted efforts to give something back to the country. Fakih signals an ambition to take further advantage of the local market, in the wake of similar efforts in the UK, where the paper on customers' trays shows information on the farmers who are supplying its produce in the country.

"We are departing from international suppliers and moving towards partnerships with Middle East suppliers, for example we're now ordering 80% of our materials from local companies, for the most part Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, such as our lids, milk and paper.

"We try to buy everything in the Middle East apart from our meat, chicken and fries, and we use two or three suppliers so we can control the quality and consistency."

Community efforts have also extended to the company's active contribution to clean up campaigns with Emirates Environmental Group, outings for children with special needs, and school events.

Diners' demands vary globally, as UAE customers recurrently request information on calories - printed on tray paper at all of the restaurants - rather than produce origins.

The company also distributes its annual social responsibility report, brochures loaded with advice about physical activity, and nutritional information on all of its items.

The explosion in mall openings has impelled the franchisee's bid for inclusion in upcoming large-scale developments such as Mall of Arabia.

Fakih's stance on modern outlets chasing health-conscious business comes in the wake of a series of efforts from his UK counterpart.

The British operation recently swapped over to non-hydrogenated cooking oil, and announced its latest initiative: to turn spent cooking oil into bio-diesel fuel to power its vans. Global efforts to take a more progressive stance on the environment and makeover restaurant interiors in recent months have certainly reaped significant financial ramifications.

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