In march 2009, the McDonald’s Corporation’s Indian operation was at a critical juncture in its evolution. Between 1995 (the year its joint ventures were formed) and March 2009, the company and its joint venture partners had opened 159 restaurants which were attracting more than 300,000 customers everyday (see Exhibit 1 for a list of cities where McDonald’s had outlets and the number of outlets in each city). Despite the company’s steady growth and acceptance by the customers, it was facing competitive threats from its closest in the form of aggressive expansion plans and price cuts. Combined with the global economic slowdown, these competitive threats could seriously hamper the company’s future expansion and growth.