CBJ – May 11 – Household fast food chain McDonald’s Restaurants plans to revamp its worldwide locations to have a more upscale look, the company said.

Reports indicate that the $1 billion-plus makeover hopes to update more than 14,000 McDonald’s locations by 2015, giving the restaurants more of a sit down, ‘Starbucks’ feel. The new image will revamp both the interior and exterior of the restaurants.

One report indicates that McDonald’s has already attracted the attention of some Starbucks customers in the past, with the introduction of its gourmet coffee drink, the McCafé, while the next logistical steps seems to be duplicating the look and feel of Starbucks Coffee restaurants.

“McDonald’s is constantly reinvesting in its restaurants. We have to be contemporary and we have to be relevant to keep up with the times, so we have a unique opportunity here,” Jim Carras, Senior Vice-President of Restaurant Development, McDonald’s USA, said in a statement. “We are in a leadership position right now to reinvest in our restaurants and make them as modern as they should be so our customers get the experience they want.”

Reports indicate that sales growth at McDonald’s, particularly in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, saw 2010 sales increase five per cent to US$24 billion, a record high for the company.

“When you’re inside an Apple Store, you almost feel like you’re inside an iPad—and you want to stay there. We want people to walk into McDonald’s and have the same feeling,” concluded Max Carmona, Senior Director of U.S. Restaurant Design.