McDonald’s competitor dishes out plan to open over 1,100 new locations
A burger fast food chain that competes with McDonald’s in popularity has announced plans to expand by almost 356%.
Shake Shack, which was operating 329 locations at the end of fiscal year 2024, aims to increase that number to ‘at least’ 1,500 over the long term, the company announced on Monday.
The existing restaurants together had ‘marked improvement in our profitability and returns’, said Shake Shack, according to Fox Business.
‘However, we believe that we are just getting started, and see an ample runway for growth ahead,’ it stated.
Shake Shack at the time of its inception two decades ago had 450 restaurants as its long-term target. The new goal is more than double that.
The New York City-based chain said it is ‘looking at 20 priority markets and growing more in its existing regions’.
‘Our guidance for 2025 and our outlook for the next three years represents some of the highest growth in the restaurant industry as we invest and execute against our robust long-term opportunities ahead,’ said Shake Shack CFO Katie Fogertey, according to Fox Business.
Shake Shack has projected a total revenue of $1.45 to $1.48billion for fiscal year 2025. It is also confident that it can achieve revenue growth in the ‘low-teens percentage’ in the next three years.
Its fame came from the ShackBurger, which is an Angus beef cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato and ShackSauce on a toasted potato bun. The chain also offers limited time menu items like the Black Truffle Burger with Gruyere cheese, black truffle sauce and crispy sweet onion. Also popular are its shakes and frozen custard drinks made premium ice cream made in-house daily.
Besides its locations in the US, Shake Shack has more than 200 restaurants internationally.
The company’s expansion plans come as many fast food chains have been downsizing.
Last week, McDonald’s announced that it will be closing three of its six beverage-focused stores, CosMc’s, in Texas.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.