Kazakhstan in talks with McDonald's

McDonald’s may enter the Kazakhstan market soon, President of the Eurasian Franchising Association Beknur Kissikov told Tengrinews.kz. According to him, the main reasons for McDonald’s not being in country lay not only in Kazakhstan’s small populationб but also in large distances between the cities. “It is at least 500 km from one city to another. McDonald’s uses only fresh and assorted products, that’s why there will be difficulties with their daily delivery,” Kissikov said. The speaker pointed out that McDonald’s was most probably not very interested in Central Asian market yet. “For example, McDonald’s was not called to come to Russia or China, but they opened their representative offices there and started working. The company has its own 5-year plan. "The talks are currently in process; we have several businessmen ready to do this. But as you know, McDonald’s have very high requirements to service and products quality,” Kissikov said. in a recent interview he spoke about trends at the Kazakhstan franchising market. According to Kissikov, franchising bends of Russian-origin have been replacing American brands lately. He believes that Kazakhstan franchise buyers are interested in retail, in particular clothes and shoes while the branded catering segment that includes street food, fast food, cafes, restaurant concepts, is still forming. By Roza Yessenkulova