By Vu Trong Khanh
HO CHI MINH CITY--McDonald's opened its first restaurant in
Vietnam to huge crowds eager to try a Big Mac, with people waiting
in long, velvet-roped lines or on motor scooters inching up to the
drive-through.
McDonald's let in its first customers on Saturday at its
flagship 24-hour store on crowded Dien Bien Phu street in Ho Chi
Minh City, the country's economic hub. The crowds frequently
outnumbered the available 350 seats, with the largely young
clientele snapping selfies with the golden arches symbol behind and
posting their appearance at the milestone on social media
sites.
In addition to McDonald's standbys, customers could try McPork
sandwiches, pioneered for the pork-loving country.
"It's very tasty and the size is just about right for my lunch,"
Nguyen Trung Kien, 26, said after finishing a McPork, priced at
$3.10, a not-so-cheap lunch in a city where street vendors sell a
bowl of beef noodle soup for $1.50.
The official launch was on Monday, when Don Thompson, McDonald's
global chief executive, said Vietnam offers "tremendous opportunity
to grow our brand." He declined to answer questions about expansion
plans and revenue targets.
McDonald's is the latest global chain entering Vietnam, which
has a population of 90 million and an average economic growth rate
of 7% over the past decade, one of the fastest in Asia.
Fast-food trailblazer KFC, which arrived in Ho Chi Minh City in
1997, now has 135 outlets in 19 cities and provinces throughout
Vietnam. Burger King opened its first restaurant here in 2012, and
now has 13 outlets in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Danang. Last
February, Starbucks opened its first outlet in the city.
Meanwhile, Philippines-based Jollibee and South Korea's Lotteria
arrived in 1998.
Vietnam "is a very young and vibrant market place...and we think
it's now time to have [a] McDonald's experience in Vietnam," CEO
Thompson told The Wall Street Journal.
The restaurant, the 10,000th for the chain in the Asia-Pacific,
Middle East and Africa regions, is the first 24-hour, drive-through
restaurant in Vietnam.
McDonald's chose Henry Nguyen, a Vietnamese-American investor
and the son-in-law of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, as
its main franchise partner in the country.
Mr. Nguyen said the restaurant served 20,000 customers on each
of its first two days.
Mr. Nguyen said the next McDonald's restaurant is scheduled to
be opened in the city in three months. He declined to offer further
expansion details.
"We want our restaurants to be places within the communities
they serve where friends and families can enjoy a special
McDonald's experience," Mr. Nguyen said. "The opening of our first
restaurant in Vietnam is just the beginning of a journey with our
customers."
Chung Thanh Dung, 24, ate his first McChicken after waiting in
line for 15 minutes on Sunday.
"It's quite good...better than most of the fast-food items I
have tried, " Mr. Dung said.
Pham Thi Huong Phuong, 24, predicted young people like herself
will like socializing at America's golden arches.
"Eating at McDonald's is...a way of a modern life for us young
people. It's not only a place to have a meal, but also a place to
hang out with friends," said Miss Phuong.
But she predicts Vietnamese people will still prefer local
food.
"I can eat rice and pho (beef or chicken noodle soup) daily, but
McDonald's...well, not quite," Ms. Phuong said.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires