Well,
maybe I am overstating it just a bit but when the CEO of such a major force in
the business world makes the statement that McDonald’s is experiencing an ‘urgent
need to evolve’, it sounds quite serious. This is not the first time that the
restaurant giant has experienced a serious decrease in sales. Worldwide sales
have dropped 1.7% and 4% in the U.S. during the month of February. This marks
the 9th month in a row that sales have declined and appears to be
the beginning of a downward trend for the fast food king.
Many
experts are wondering why the sudden change for the most successful fast food
restaurant in history? Some feel that the new advertising campaign featuring
the slogan “pay with lovin" is partly to blame but I feel that explanation
may be a bit simplistic. Although the new campaign has failed to spark
interest, McDonald’s has had some major setbacks recently. If you recall there
was the problem of “tainted meat” last summer in Japan and now the discovery of
vinyl in a customer’s Chicken McNuggets in January, also in Japan. This does
little to boost sales in any country and makes many consumers wary about
exactly how the food is prepared.
Notwithstanding,
McDonald’s has long been the target of the “healthy eating crowd” and has
gained a reputation amongst many over the years as the place not to eat if you
are striving for a more healthy diet. It should also be noted that there is
more competition than ever before and long time rivals such as Burger King and
Wendy’s have triggered a price war in the industry that has affected profit
margins considerably. The arrival of new competition such as Five Guys Burgers,
Chipotle, Panera Bread and others has also taken a bite out of McDonald’s
customer base.
Only last
week McDonald’s again made promises
to stop selling chicken that was both fed and injected with human antibiotics
amidst more pressure from food safety experts and the U.S. government. Many
feel that this practice is contributing to the rise of antibiotic-resistant
infections. In 2003 a similar promise was made by the fast food chain but never
came to fruition.
Are we
seeing the “beginning of the end” of the most powerful and successful fast food
restaurant in history? I’m sure it’s way too soon to make such an ominous
prediction but one thing is certain; McDonald’s is facing the greatest
challenges it has yet seen and declining sales figures are never a good sign.
Only time will tell if we will continue to view the world famous golden arches
as the undisputed king but it is clear that many changes will need to be made
to regain the confidence of former customers that have gone primarily in search
of a healthier and “safer” alternative.
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