For the first time in a long time, Vikram Bakshi shares his personal experiences on how McDonald’s rejected him... and then accepted him. By Angshuman Paul
Vikram Bakshi
JV Partner, McDonald’s India (North & East)
JV Partner, McDonald’s India (North & East)
Jack Trout in his book The Battle for Your Mind talked about how companies can target customers in a crowded market by focusing on ‘positioning’ rather than simply selling their products. That was the year 1981. It was also the year when a young entrepreneur from India was planning to target Indian consumers with various imported products. In his frequent visits to the West, he had noticed how Western goods attracted the Indian masses, simply because they were, well, Western. Interestingly, during this man’s various sojourns to Europe, his one stop solution for food was McDonald’s. And every time he entered a McDonald’s outlet, his only thought was about replicating the concept in India. Over time, the idea gained structure in his mind. Vikram Bakshi tells us today how he wrote at least ten times to McDonald’s head offices in the USA proposing a business venture; and how he never managed to receive a positive response.
Vikram Bakshi apparently was too headstrong to give up. And finally the day arrived, much after liberalisation had set into the country’s economy. The era was 1990s and the Narsimha Rao-led Congress government had opened its gates for foreign players to enter India. Recalls Vikram, “Things had started changing dramatically in the Indian corporate world, and I was continuing with my overseas export business.” This was the time when Big Mac was all set to foray into the Indian soil. And Vikram got to know about it from the most unexpected source, his neighbour, who turned out to be noted hotelier Madhusudhan Thakkar (he has many restaurants in 5 star hotels to his credit) who was keen on taking the franchisee of McDonald’s. Eventually, Madhusudhan backed out, and Vikram decided to move ahead. Vikram found some more help from unexpected quarters. Pramod Bhasin, the President and CEO of Genpact, helped Vikram draft the initial offer letter and even Vikram’s resume. The underlying challenge was to convince the brass at McDonald’s that Vikram had the wherewithal to take up the national franchise. And one day, Jim Gemher – VP for franchisee operations at McDonald’s set up a meeting with him. In the ensuing three-hour conversation, Jim extracted every possible piece of information from Vikram. “The very next day, I was called for another meeting,” says Vikram, “but there were other bidders here including big players like Ansals, Modis, Mahindras and several others too. All my confidence died down and I thought I would lose the contract. Even then, I just repeated whatever I had said to Jim the previous evening.”
Despite all the biggies bidding, Jim chose Vikram (he revealed later that Vikram had been chosen right after the first meeting itself). Today, Vikram Bakshi is the MD and JV Partner of McDonald’s for the northern and eastern regions in India, and has made McDonald’s a brand that has been able to consistently provide Indians with classic as well as contemporary value-for-money quick service products. It is also the only QSR in the country that sources 90% of the products from within the country. Interestingly, Vikram has not just roped in the best of the Indian suppliers, but he has also introduced them to its global buyers. As a result, not a single supplier has left Big Mac since the very beginning of its journey in India. And it’s the sturdy supply chain that has helped Vikram, therefore McDonald’s, to reduce the raw material cost and eventually become an affordable brand.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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