McDonald's: 1,000 new restaurants in 2010
Fast food giant plans to increase sales by 5% and invest $2.4 billion to enhance its brand.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- McDonald's plans to open 1,000 new restaurants next year and renovate 2,300 existing locations.
At a meeting of company investors on Thursday, the fast-food giant said it would focus on opening new restaurants primarily in the U.S., Germany, France, Russia, China and Australia.
Specifically, McDonald's plans for 150 new U.S. locations plus: 260 in Europe; 490 across Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Australia; 80 in Latin America; and 20 in Canada.
"Today's market conditions have accentuated our strengths," said McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner. "The time is ideal for us to further differentiate our brand and grow market share. We are determined to keep stretching our business, increasing traffic and becoming more relevant to a growing number of customers around the world."
The restaurant, which already has more than 32,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries, is hoping the effort will drive sales growth up by 5% and income up by 7%.
The Oak Brook, Ill.-based company also said it will spend $2.4 billion to "reimage" the exterior and interior of 2,300 existing McDonald's "to be more modern, more comfortable and contemporary." It intends to do this by improving the seating, lighting and decor and adding double-lane drive-thru stations "where it makes sense to improve speed and convenience," said a Heidi Barker, a McDonald's spokeswoman.
Most of the renovations will be in locations across Europe.
The approach will also involve "innovating" the restaurant's menu on every level, the company said in a statement.
Shares of McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) were down almost 1% in midday trading. 
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