Wingstop, the chicken wing restaurant chain based in Dallas, Texas, plans to open in India by early 2027 and sees room for 1,000 restaurants there. President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Skipworth said India is the company’s next market on its fiscal third quarter earnings call on October 28, according to The Motley Fool‘s transcript.
Wingstop sells cooked-to-order chicken wings, and it runs mostly through franchised restaurants. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, it trades on the Nasdaq exchange.
The company has opened eight new international markets in the past year and a half, with flagship restaurants in Thailand, Spain and Italy, and it opened its one hundredth restaurant in the United Kingdom in August. Globally it has more than 2,300 restaurants committed in its pipeline and a long-term goal of more than 10,000.
The India plan comes as sales at home weaken. According to media reports, Wingstop’s same-store sales in the United States fell 5% in the quarter, and the company lowered its outlook for the full year. System-wide sales still rose 6%, and the chain added seventy-six net new restaurants. Barron’s headlined its report on the call as a bet on India while sales in the United States are sluggish.
Why this matters: a US restaurant brand with softer sales at home is counting on India for growth, through the franchise model that built its US business. The first opening, due by early 2027, will show how Wingstop plans to reach a 1,000-restaurant market, and whom it picks to do it.
