Coalition of Franchisee Associations

January 26, 2008

Operators Who Know Nothing About Equity

I have been informed that there are members of the
McDonald's SET team who take the position that
Operator equity has improved and is better than it
was five years ago.

To believe this one must depend entirely on information
and philosophy provided by Oak Brook bean counters.
"Cash flow" as computed by McDonald's Corp. has little
to do with the value of your stores. It doesn't address
marketability, reinvestment, Co-Op situations, livability,
and tortious interference my McDonald's, etc.

For one thing - the measurement should not be "equity
as compared to five years ago" but equity as what it
should be at this time. It should be - what would your
equity be if changes in corporate policies over those
five years had not demolished the value of stores?

Anyone who thinks that equity has improved should
not be sitting on committees with such responsibility.

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Free Food for All or a Food Cost Freefall?

Analysts are being lead to believe
that the answer to a weakening
economy will be more "value"
initiatives at McDonald's.

"Management has indicated that
it expects to launch regional
marketing that highlights value
in geographies that are seeing
the greatest economic weakness."
an anylyst writes.

When did McDonald's become the
Foodbank to the world?

Click here for article with analyst's comments


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January 21, 2008

Be a Winner - Be Last!

We recently sent an E-mail to our McDonald's
franchisee list suggesting they:

* Don't spend $3.00 to get a check for $1.00 just
because there is a corporate contribution.

* Go with the Michigan approach - no beverage cell
- just a machine to set someplace.

* Be a winner - be last. We continue to encourage
you to be the Last Operator - in the Last Co-Op -
to go with CBI.

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January 9, 2008

Business Week also gets it right

Business Week headline:

"Adding specialty coffee stations
to its restaurants could reap specialty
profits. But adding such complexity to
a simple system has its risks"

These magazine reporters understand
McDonald's better than the bureaucrats
in Oak Brook!

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