McDonalds is a fast food icon which has achieved amazing growth
globally but the pace is faltering as retail headwinds take their toll. Like
every retailer around the world, McDonalds are having to reassess their future.
In the U.S., where a third of their restaurants reside, McDonalds
have recorded a 2% drop in sales and a 13% drop in profit. As a consequence,
McDonalds are reviewing more contemporary and healthier food options, an area
that some of their competitors have embraced. In Australia the move away from
the classic burger has already started with the "Create Your Taste"
campaign where customers are encouraged to design their own burgers. The
success of this campaign has already seen some take-up in the U.S.
McDonalds have experienced decline before. Back in 2003 U.S.
sales plummeted as their meteoric pace of expansion led to lower standards of
service and cleanliness, and they seemed to lose focus on their core menu. Refocusing and slowing the rate of expansion
produced a dramatic turnaround.
It can be said that the McDonalds experience is repeated in
retail businesses of all types and sizes around the globe. The constant need to
reassess and reinvent has become the norm in a fast changing and unpredictable
retail world. Not even market traders at QVM are immune.