Products are quickly going out of stock at McDonald's outlets in north and east India as the US burger chain is tightening the screws on supplies to its estranged joint-venture partner Connaught Plaza Restaurants (CPRL) led by Vikram Bakshi.

On Sunday, many McDonald's outlets in North India refused to serve the brand's favourite desserts such as McFlurry, Soft Serve and cola floats. Executives at the McDonald's restaurants said supply has been disrupted at the back-end. The company had introduced premium desserts, including McFlurry in Oreo and other flavours in 2011, along with its McSpicy range of products. When contacted, CPRL MD Bakshi did not comment. Sources at McDonald's said, "This is only the first sign of the impact of the cancellation of the franchise agreement.

Some companies have already stopped supplying to CPRL. The full impact will be seen over the coming weeks because all outlets have supplies in reserve for at least two to three weeks." Among the most prominent companies that supply to McDonald's are Amrit Food (milk products), Schreiber Dynamix Dairies (cheese), Vista Processed Foods (lettuce and patty) and Mrs. Bector's (buns). Earlier, Bakshi had said suppliers raise invoices to CPRL and not McDonald's.

McDonald's, with whom Bakshi has been fighting a long legal battle, has slapped a notice on CPRL cancelling its franchise agreement. It means CPRL that operates 169 McDonald's outlets in north and east of the country, has lost the rights to use the McDonald's branding and food recipes, among other things. Bakshi, however, refused to acknowledge the notice and has insisted on keeping the outlets open.

Share This Post