McDonald's CEO James Skinner claims "We've learned. We've evolved. We believe we've cracked the code in the United States."I was so intrigued by the article that I went to search for more articles on McDonalds. This one by the Economist is pretty good too.What is the code? Americans like to eat all day long.
Most outlets are open 18 hours a day. Others are 24/7. McDonald's essentially want you to stuff yourself from dawn 'til dusk.
It seems that many customers are only too happy to oblige. After all, McDonald's have kids play areas, they have McCafe's, they have wide-screen TV's.
The salads and so-called "healthy options" are nothing but a nod in the direction of the food police. McDonald's have been talking about reducing trans fats for years. Ironically at the same time they do the talking - they come out with snacks like the chicken Snack Wrap. Each "snack" has about 330 Calories and at least a gram of good 'ole trans fats.
America: McDonald's has you under their big fat meaty thumb.
"Yet the really interesting thing going on here is at a hybrid restaurant, which in part uses McDonald's Japanese system—creator of the Teriyaki burger—and a new concept from Sweden, which grills burgers vertically instead of horizontally as on a traditional griddle. This new type of grill offers great space-saving possibilities—extremely useful in crowded Japan."Some related, and not-so-related articles:
"The average sale in a McDonald's is just under $5. Typically what might happen is a mother comes in, buys her children a Happy Meal, and herself just a coffee. Now that salads and other lighter options have been added to the menu, many of those mothers now buy themselves a meal too, lifting the order value to around $12. The lighter options also encourage existing customers to come back more often because there is a greater variety of things to eat."
