July 26, 2024
July 25, 2024
July 21, 2024
July 18, 2024
July 17, 2024
July 16, 2024
July 15, 2024
FTC Tells Franchisors - No Junk Fees
"The agency also said that franchisors can’t take action against franchisees that take complaints about the business to the government."
July 13, 2024
July 12, 2024
July 11, 2024
Anonymous McGossip on X
@McFranchisee (Twitter - formerly @MCDtruth) claims that the typical
U.S. store will receive one case of 250 Black Garlic packets. Is that worth
while of a promotion? Sounds like a half-day supply.
July 9, 2024
Barbell Strategies
During one of the previous burger wars, a QSR corporate head (I think he was from Burger King) coined the phrase "Barbell Menu." The term was used to describe pricing that brought customers into the restaurant with the hope they'd forego the discount and move up to more profitable menu items.
Today, we have a different "barbell menu" this one is more of a corporate strategy. The only "new" idea the corporate guys can come up with is discounting. But they can't admit to investors that price-off is their only idea, so they'll try to deflect attention to new product promotions. This works well because analysts and reporters are always expecting new product news. And, if there is no new product news, they'll criticize management for not having a "healthy product innovation pipeline".
If the discounting works, management will credit the new products. If sales haven't improved, they’ll blame the American consumer.
And everyone else in the system will be left asking, “How did our menu get so big and complicated?”
July 8, 2024
McDonald's NASCAR Chicago Street Race
Well, it wasn't really a "McDonald's" race, the first Chicago NASCAR race (2023) just looked that way based on photos and videos. I watched most of last year's race live and was surprised at how much visibility the McDonald's logo received. McDonald's banners covered many of the walls and barriers that made up the racecourse. These banners always seemed to be on camera. I couldn't help but wonder how much this cost.
Later, I learned the facts. Because it rained for much of the race, the TV cameras installed on high-up scaffolding or on the sides of buildings were temporarily disabled, leaving the ground-level cameras to cover the race. This meant shooting straight across the course with the racecars in the foreground and the McDonald's banners constantly in the background.
It sure looked like a race entirely sponsored by McDonald's.
July 5, 2024
July 2, 2024
July 1, 2024
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June 25, 2024
June 24, 2024
June 22, 2024
June 20, 2024
Bloomberg on McDonald's $5.00 Meal Deal
“Think about our scale,” he (Elinger) said, noting that the incremental cost of adding fries and a drink to a sandwich was minimal.
McDonald's $5.00 value meal intensifies a fast food price war
June 18, 2024
Is Anyone Watching the MCD Stock Price?
This year, the price has drifted from $300 to $250. Only two things can turn that around: * several miracles in international markets or * McDonald's Owner/Operators in the USA can discount their menus and invest in promotions until same-store sales turn around.
June 17, 2024
McDonald's Has No Artificial Intelligence
There is some humor in how reporters and analysts think about drive-thru technology. They seem to think the answer to everything in drive-thru is faster ordering. Of course, that's the only part of the operation they can see and hear. This is why McDonald's management can generate headlines about AI but can't actually make it work.
June 15, 2024
June 13, 2024
June 12, 2024
June 10, 2024
June 8, 2024
June 5, 2024
This is What Higher Royalties Buys You?
A silly headline for a silly article. This could have been avoided if the pajama boys had taken action last fall.
A McDonald’s executive confirmed this awful reality about life under Joe Biden
Another California Chain Biting the Dust
Rubio’s and In n’ Out have been two destination brands. When folks visit Southern California, they have to eat at these two chains.
But Rubio's never did real estate well. They often went with the cheapest site, so it’s no surprise they have many marginal locations.
Rubio's closes nearly 50 locations - NRN
June 1, 2024
In Case You're Missing It
May 30, 2024
May 29, 2024
McDonald's Didn't Have to be the Poster Child for Inflation
Today's open letter on McDonald's pricing and the attached infographic are well done but long overdue. I was originally going to claim the $18 meal deal had been in the public eye for a few months, but then I did a search. It first showed up on social media in July of last year!
Since these myths were allowed to fester it seems every media report on inflation has mentioned prices at McDonald's. This could have been squelched with a more modest version of today's release - maybe last fall.
Remember when McDonald's Corp. had something of a "quick response" team to deal with such misreporting? If there is still such a team, they must have been off attending a ESG or DEI workshop.
Your "Royalties" at work.
Analyst: McDonald's Should Keep With the Discounting
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| MCD YTD 2024 - bigcharts.com |
Fast food slump could be a buying opportunity - Yahoo Financial
By "buying opportunity," the writer means, for shareholders
May 26, 2024
May 23, 2024
May 22, 2024
CosMc's and the Millennial Generation
This concept reminds me of something, oh yeah, the SPOD / Walmart platform
Customization = Slow Service = Low Volume
May 21, 2024
So This is How the Economy Works!
Jared Bernstein is President Biden's chief economic advisor. He often appears on TV in front of the White House to explain global economics.
Economics for people who don't understand economics - 3 min video
May 17, 2024
May 15, 2024
Maze on $5.00 meal
Jonathan Maze updates progress of negotiations
"McDonald’s then returned with a different proposal, one that featured incentives from Coca-Cola, the company’s beverage provider. That assuaged many operators’ concerns about profitability. The proposal also has carve-outs for higher-priced markets, enabling them to run the promotion at a higher price.
The National Owners Association, an independent group of McDonald’s operators, praised Coca-Cola for providing the financial assistance."............
"But the group also said it felt McDonald’s should step up financially, too."
May 14, 2024
May 10, 2024
Remembering the Arch Deluxe - Again
Not to beat a dead topic, but there's a lot to learn from the Arch Deluxe, both in terms of product development and marketing. Most internet videos, such as the following, are snarky and juvenile. This one is professionally produced and, if memory serves, quite accurate. And it's only six minutes long.
May 9, 2024
May 7, 2024
A History of the McFuture
In a company nearing its 70th year, there will eventually come a point where the board of directors and management have only second-hand and third-hand knowledge of the company's history. That’s where McDonald’s is today.
It’s easy to make use of icons such as animated McNuggets and Shamrock Shakes, but a new management team will ignore historical events that do not fit into their contemporary agenda.
There are major things happening today, echos from the late 1990s, that management is either ignorant of or chooses to ignore:
New store growth: We’ve discussed this many times. In the 1990s, management sought to convince investors that McDonald’s was still a growth company. New store growth was “accelerated”. Cannibalization became the word of the decade. McDonald’s Owner/Operators shared in the blame because, being starved for new stores, they eagerly opened any new location corporate came up with.
Major new sandwich introduction: Convinced that “consumer tastes have changed,” management bet the farm on the Arch Deluxe. Not only was the product uninteresting, but a complete change in McDonald’s advertising style was a flop with the American consumer.
Chairman and CEO combo: McDonald’s veterans know that some of the roughest years in McDonald’s history were when the board chair and the CEO were the same person. Denying common sense and history, it’s happening all over again.
"Overall, independent chairs are becoming more common, a trend supported by a significant number of investors over the last 10 years."
From the:
May 6, 2024
Named Executive Officers Compensation - MCD Corp
May 4, 2024
May 1, 2024
Welcome to the Fourth Branch of Government
Just when you thought the Congressional, Judicial, and Executive branches of government were enough, along comes the fourth, the Bureaucracy (or The Swamp).
The unelected bureaucracy is increasingly making rules that function as laws, and it is growing with little supervision from Congress. This rule-making is reaching a fever pitch since the bureaucrats know that a Trump administration will strip them of much of their power.
Peter Romeo covers restaurant surcharges:
McDonald's Shifts Focus to Value
“We’re in a strong position,” CEO says. “Franchisee cash flow is at the second highest levels ever.”
The fast-food giant appears to be losing the battle for customers - Maze
April 30, 2024
McDonald's Has Lost Some of its Value Edge - NRN
"Of course, these changes require alignment with the 2,000 or so franchisees in the system, but they have been generating higher cash flows and are therefore able “get more aggressive with value offerings,” Kempczinski said."
Menu Prices Raise Sales for MCD USA in Q1
Executives suggested the company will focus on value this year.
“We have a value message,” said CEO. “But we’re doing it in 50 different ways with local value. What we don’t have in the U.S. is a national value platform.”
April 29, 2024
April 28, 2024
April 26, 2024
April 25, 2024
April 24, 2024
April 23, 2024
April 22, 2024
April 20, 2024
Pres, MCD USA Sells More Shares
"The insider transaction history for McDonald's Corp shows a pattern of 26 insider sells and no insider buys over the same timeframe."
April 19, 2024
April 17, 2024
McDonald's Owner in California Says:
“We have realized that we are unable to solve our way out of this challenge just with price,” said Kerri Harper-Howie, a 21-unit McDonald’s franchisee in Los Angeles County. “We can’t do it. Our customers are price sensitive.”
April 15, 2024
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April 12, 2024
April 10, 2024
April 9, 2024
This Year's Legal Eagles
Franchise Times magazine has released its "Legal Issues" issue featuring the top franchise attorneys in the USA. In addition to a comprehensive graphic listing the attorneys, there are numerous articles and comments from these attorneys.
If you start with the main page HERE on the right, you'll find links to the articles. In the middle of the page, there's a link to a PDF copy of the entire section.
April 5, 2024
Earthquakes can be serious business, but as a survivor of hundreds of California earthquakes, I had to roll my eyes a little at the dramatics coming out of New York this morning.
My most memorable was in San Francisco, at a joint meeting of the San Francisco McDonald’s Co-Op and those involved in their Ronald McDonald House. The venue was a hospital in the city with a spectacular view of the skyline and bay—hence, lots of windows.
The window coverings were big, heavy venetian blinds. As the building shook, the blinds began to bang against the window glass, amplifying our fear factor.
Sensing the room’s concern, one of the doctors stepped to the microphone and said, “Not to worry; you’re already in a medical center.”
April 4, 2024
The Future With Gruesome Newsom
A BK franchisee spills the beans about backroom dealings in California
Who ever heard of American citizens who lobby their government being forced to sign NDAs? We need to know more.
April 3, 2024
March 31, 2024
March 30, 2024
March 27, 2024
March 26, 2024
March 25, 2024
March 24, 2024
March 22, 2024
March 21, 2024
March 20, 2024
Anonymous is Anonymous
A friend sent a note asking me to check to see if their comment came through as “anonymous” with no identifying info. This reminds me that I should make my annual remarks about how this website works.
To comment in any way other than “anonymous,” one must sign in with a user ID and E-mail address. Then, after writing their comment, they confirm all of the information. That requires a lot of conscious effort versus just clicking on anonymous. Few people have ever done that.
Most importantly, as the administrator of this website, I approve everything that gets posted or commented on. If a person were to do anything but post anonymously, I wouldn’t approve it, and the information would disappear into the ether. So, it’s impossible for someone to accidentally display their identity.
There’s another security aspect here - the website and your E-mail have nothing to do with each other. My E-mail server is a completely different service than the website - two different vendors. There’s no connection. That’s why we don’t have one of those “contact us” forms on the website. My E-mail address is displayed, but it’s not a click-thru.
Just because you are in my E-mail address book doesn’t mean a thing. The website doesn't know you exist.
You are accessing the website through the weblink, not your E-mail account.
So please relax and make some anonymous comments.
March 19, 2024
Greenberg Last to Serve as McDonald's CEO and Chairman
Greenberg to retire from McDonald's - QSR mag - December 2002
Greenberg's failures weaken same-store sales - LA Times - December 2002
“They should drastically slow the pace of new store openings in the United States, preferably to zero,” said David Kolpak, an analyst with Victory Capital Management.
Google this: "serve as chair of board and ceo"
March 16, 2024
Feds vs. McDonald's Shakes
It stinks that the Federal government has to be involved in this problem.
It stinks that Taylor couldn't be made to solve this problem.
It stinks that Taylor is still a McDonald's vendor.
Feds to crack down on broken shake machine problem
Subway Franchisees Get Aggressive
Subway franchisees have hired a high-powered attorney - Maze
"Zarco ... represents several franchisee associations, including the National Owners Association, a group of McDonald’s franchisees."
March 15, 2024
March 13, 2024
Don't Let Corporate Lawyers Design Parking Spaces
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New store - remote handicapped stalls
When McDonald's was a growth company, the operations folks had some input on the parking lot layout, and that was good for customers.
Stretching the letter of the law is not good for customers.
Everyone has relatives or friends who use these spaces = losing battle
March 12, 2024
March 11, 2024
March 8, 2024
Keeping the System Out of Date
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a copy of McDonald’s corporate “Global Daily Briefing. “ The most recent version (3/4/24) differs from previous releases, but I can’t tell when changes occurred.
Previously, the vendor that put the briefing together threw in the kitchen sink with almost any headline, including topics that weren’t all that positive for McDonald’s or didn’t fit into the then corporate agenda.
The recent publication is more condensed and is apparently limited to topics that MCDHQ would like employees and Owners to absorb, buying into a bit of brainwashing.
For instance, ESG (Environmental, Social, Governmental) and DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) are discussed as though it was 2022, and the concepts had not been discredited over and over again. Companies are now embarrassed to admit ESG has been a priority, and DEI is being recognized as a new form of corporate-sponsored racism.
Current polls on any political topic tell us that Americans have moved past issues such as ESG and DEI.
But MCDHQ marches on - as woke as ever and as antiquated as an EV charging station.
March 6, 2024
March 4, 2024
March 2, 2024
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March 1, 2024
February 29, 2024
Dough Talks, Sourdough Walks
Pushed by the nation's largest franchise owner. It's about time this got some coverage.
Newsom donor benefitting from $20 exemption for restaurant bakeries - FOX News
February 28, 2024
Wendy's CEO: "Did I say That? ... I Didn't Say That!"
Corporate CEOs often get in trouble trying to impress analysts and investors on quarterly conference calls. In this case, Wendy's new CEO implied the company might use dynamic pricing in the future. In the case of McDonald's, the CEO has recently implied that he, and he alone, would do something about "value" and menu pricing in the restaurants.
"We didn’t use that phrase, nor do we plan to implement that practice,”
February 26, 2024
Wendy's About to Make a Big Mistake
Daypart offerings? That's OK ... Dynamic pricing? HUGE mistake
A Wendy’s burger may sell at a higher price point during a busy lunch rush
February 23, 2024
Union's Day of Action Against Starbucks
I've always thought Howard Schultz was among the dumbest people in American business. With the liberal, left-wing directions he's taken Starbucks, it's amazing he's built such a vast company and survived. But what do you get when you build a company based on your liberal "woke" policies and staff it with people who agree with your politics?
You get a Union Shop; that's what you get.
Starbucks unions stage a national day of action against chain