McDonald's Restaurants example essay topic

The number one fast-food chainMcDonald's is the world's leading food service retailer with more than 30,000 local restaurants in 121 countries serving 45 million customers each day. The McDonald's History Raymond Albert Kroc 1902-1984, A Salesman Ray Kroc mortgaged his home and invested his entire life savings to become the exclusive distributor of a five-spindled milk shake maker called the Multimixer. Hearing about the McDonald's hamburger stand in California running eight Multimixer at a time, he packed up his car and headed West. It was 1954.

He was 52 years old. Where it all began, Des Plaines, Illinois Ray Kroc opened the Des Plaines restaurant in 1955. First day's revenues-$366.12! It's no longer a functioning restaurant, the Des Plaines building is now a museum containing McDonald's memorabilia and artifacts, including the Multimixer! Ronald McDonald, In Any Language He Means 'Fun!' 'The smile known around the world,' Ronald McDonald is second only to Santa Claus in terms of recognition. In his first TV appearance in 1963, the happy clown was portrayed by none other than Willard Scott.

Fred Turner And Ray Kroc, Architects Of A Dream Ray Kroc and Fred Turner study the design which would replace the red and white tile buildings that had become landmarks throughout the United States. Called Kroc's first 'grill man extraordinaire,' Turner is today Senior Chairman of the Board. McDonald's Comes To Wall Street In 1965 McDonald's went public with the company's first offering on the stock exchange. A hundred shares of stock costing $2,250 dollars that day would have multiplied into 74,360 shares today, worth over $2.8 million on December 31, 1998. In 1985, McDonald's was added to the 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average. A Big Idea Called 'Big Mac' Introduced system wide in 1968, the Big Mac was the brainchild of Jim Delligatti, one of Ray Kroc's earliest franchisees, who by the late 1960's operated a dozen stores in Pittsburgh.

The Egg McMuffin Introduced in 1973, the Egg McMuffin was developed by owner operator Herb Peterson. The First Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia, PA In 1974, Fred Hill of the Philadelphia Eagles teamed up with McDonald's to create Ronald McDonald House. The families of critically ill children have a place to call home while they " re away from home as the young patients undergo treatment for their conditions. The Happy Meal Since 1979, the Happy Meal has been making kids visits that much more special. Clubs the world over collect Happy Meals toys and boxes.

The Future Begins Now McDonald's Express for a world that can't slow down! McDonald's is popping up in more non-traditional locations like Amoco and Chevron stations, with full menu offerings and dining room seating, just like you " ll find in a traditional McDonald's. Kuwait City, Kuwait Kuwait City is pretty far from Des Plaines, Illinois, but that didn't stop 15,000 customers from lining up on opening day in 1994. The line at the drive thru was seven miles long. McDonald's On The Worldwide Web! Forty three years after opening the first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, McDonald's are proud to come on the World Wide Web.

McDonalds. com receives millions and millions of hits every week. McDonald's at a Glance Headquarters Oak Brook, Illinois First Restaurant Des Plaines, Illinois, 1955 First foreign franchise Canada, 1967 First foreign franchise outside North America Costa Rica Latest foreign franchise French Guiana Number of customer visits to Mc Donald's worldwide 45 million / day; 16.1 billion / year Share of U.S. fast-food market 42%Percentage of corporation profits derived from foreign sales 60% Major sponsorship NBA; Winter Olympics, Nagano, Japan; NASCAR; World Cup Soccer Annual revenues $40 billion Total number of employees worldwide 1,150,000 Total number of employees in the United States 650,000 Estimated percentage of U.S. labor force whose first work experience was McDonald's 7%Most well-known charitable activities Ronald McDonald House. S. Fortune 500 rank 135 Global Fortune 500 rank 397 How Did McDonald's Become a Global Corporations? o Lower Production Costs - This goal is achieved by hiring employees who will work for lower wages, by introducing labor-saving technologies, by reducing the number of employees and by moving production facilities out of high-wage zones. A second strategy to lower production costs is to identify new sources of low-wage labor. McDonald's boasts that it is the largest employer of teenagers and that it actively recruits minorities, senior citizens and the disabled. o Create New Products That Consumers Need to Buy - Every new menu item represents a "new product". McDonald's and other fast-food chains have been particularly successful in marketing their products to children. The company offers Happy Meals that come with toys that many child (and some adults) "need to have", such as Teenie Beanie Babies and toys made popular by Disney movies. o Improve on Existing Products and Make Previous Versions Obsolete This strategy includes making existing food items bigger and better.

Fast-food companies compete, for example, to make french fires better (hotter or crispier) than their competitors do. o Expand the Outer Boundaries of the World Economy and Create New Markets - McDonald's began its expansion outside the United States in 1967, when it opened a unit in Canada. It now operates units in 121 foreign countries. In its annual report to stockholders, McDonald's distinguishes among established, well-penetrated markets, such as Australia, Brazil, Japan, and the United States, and emerging markets that "have been in operation for more than five years, and have relatively low penetration and significant near-term growth potential", such as Argentina, China, Italy, and Spain. The company has also identified more than three dozen countries where it is introducing the fast-food industry, including Bolivia, Egypt, India, and the Ukraine. In their drive to create new markets, executives of fast-food restaurants have come to realize that customers make choices about where to eat on the spur of the moment and based on convenience (the closer the restaurant, the better the chance that customers will choose to eat there). As a result, corporations have located restaurants in Wal-Mart and Home Depot stores, gas stations, malls, airports, college campuses, hospitals, and military bases. o Identify Ways That Enable or Encourage People to Purchase More Products and Services - Suggestive selling is one way to increase sales.

Order takers ask the customers if they would like to "Supersize" their value meal, meaning for a small charge (between 39 to 50 cents), customers can receive a large fry and drink with their meal. Market researches and financial analysts have also found that when consumers defer payments until a later date they are likely to spend more at the time of purchase. McDonald's has located restaurants in approximately 700 Wal-Mart stores. When Wal-Mart customers check out after shopping in the store, they have an opportunity to order food. Their order is relayed from the register to the McDonald's kitchen and the food is brought to the customer as he or she leaves.

As many people use credit cards to purchase Wal-Mart items, those short of cash may decide to order dinner on credit as well. FACTS TO CONSIDER o Every one of McDonald's 30,000 restaurant managers must take courses at one of the corporation's Hamburger Universities located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Brazil and Australia. o Each year, McDonald's handles more than 16 billion customer visits worldwide. o Over the past five years, McDonald's restaurants have been the sites of protests, boycotts, and bombings in more than 50 countries. o Fortune magazine ranked McDonald's as number one among the largest 500 U.S. based corporations in terms of the social responsibility. McDonald's Corporate Investor RelationsMCDONALD'S CORP. (NYSE: MCD) - 1 Year 4: 01 EST on Dec 16 Last Trade Change Day's Range 52 - week Range 24.88 - 0.54 2.12%24.84 - 25.55 12.12 - 27.01 Volume Earn / Shr P / E Mkt Cap Div / Shr Yield 5,681,600 0.81 31.75 32,719,048,000 $0.400 1.55 McDonald " sTM Introduces New McKIDSTM Multi-Category, Worldwide Licensing Program Toys, Books, Clothing, Videos Take Brand to New Venues, Customers McFlurryTMDessert Maker "Top 10" Toy For HolidaysMcDonald's Corporation introduce a major new multi-category licensing initiative called "McKids". The new McKids retail line will feature top quality, action-oriented toys, casual contemporary clothing, interactive videos and books, all reflecting today's active lifestyles. It is one more strategic element in the company's ongoing revitalization plan that has helped usher in a new era of marketing at McDonald's.

It will unify retail licensed products under one brand, with one brand look and one brand vision. It exemplifies the kind of new thinking, focus and bold action that is redefining McDonald's. It's all about connecting with consumers in fresh, relevant ways both inside and outside our restaurants. The McKids toy line will expand on the success of the current portfolio of popular retail toys like the Mc Flurry Maker, (Spin Master) named one of the Top 10 new toys at Toy Fair 2003 by USA Today, and expected to be one of the hottest selling items this holiday season at retail locations including Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and Target. The new McKids brand will be introduced beginning in Spring 2004 in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, Australia, Korea and Taiwan, with additional countries to follow. The McKids line of products includes: Toy Line The McKids toy line extends current offerings from role play toys and games to new active and creative play experiences.

McDonald's currently has license agreements with many leading toy and game licensees, including Creative Designs, Hasbro, Mattel, Patch Products and Spin Master. Clothing / Footwear/Accessory The McKids Apparel line will offer high quality fabrics and materials, great value, and casual styles that kids and their parents will appreciate. Clothing is created to endure, and will feature classic styles that parents can rely on season after season. Video / DVD/Music The McKids entertainment series provides an energetic, engaging and fun experience for children. Unlike typical videos for children that are more passive, the McKids Video series will get kids on their feet to join in the action.

Fueled with contemporary, hip music and hosted by Ronald McDonald TM, each 30 minute live action show will take kids on interactive adventures, interspersed with energetic music videos. Kids may learn about teamwork in a participatory soccer segment, or experience the galaxy as they magically zoom through space. They will also learn about children who live in different parts of the world. Books The McKids Books Series introduces a new line of interactive books to engage, entertain, educate and enlighten kids.

The books teach and encourage kids to be creative, and make reading and learning fun.

Bibliography

web A Global Perspective, Fifth Edition, Joan Ferrante, Northern Kentucky University, Copyright 2003 Wadsworth Fortune 2001;
Foreign Policy 2001;
McDonald's Corporation 2001.