RISE - Menu Monitor

McDonald’s reported for the second quarter net earnings rose 4.3% and revenues increased 12%. However, the company
reported a loss of $711.7 million, compared to a profit of $834.1 million last year, because of a charge in connection with its
license developmental transaction in Latin America. (RTT News 7/24/07)
McDonald’s is standardizing a 5 a.m. opening time to accommodate consumers’ increasingly earlier breakfast times.
Approximately 75% of the chains 13,700 U.S. restaurants already open at 5 a.m. McDonald’s expects that extending its
morning hours will boost unit sales, which currently average $2 million annually. (NRN Daily NewsFax 7/30/07; The Wall Street
Journal Online 7/27/07)
Children prefer food in McDonald’s wrappers over the same menu items in unmarked wrappers. A study by a Stanford
University researcher attributes the effect to advertising that “tricks the taste buds” of young children. The study involved 63
children ages 3 to 5, all of whom chose the marked McDonald’s food as the tastiest. (National Association of Convenience
Stores 8/8/07; Detroit Free Press Online 8/7/07)
McDonald’s plans to create a more sophisticated atmosphere with the remodeling of its locations in Europe. The company
plans to replace the white, yellow and red plastic furniture with lime-green designer chairs and dark leather upholstery. The
revamp will cost more than $828 million for the 1,280 locations that will be redesigned by the end of the year. (nytimes.com
8/21/07)
McDonald’s sale of Boston Market has been cleared by federal antitrust regulators. McDonald’s plans to sell the chain to Sun
Capital Partners for an undisclosed amount. (Associated Press 8/20/07)
McDonald’s is revising its marketing strategy for selling Happy Meals to children as part of a pledge made by 11 major food
marketers not to advertise unhealthy foods to kids aged 12 and under. The initiative stipulates that McDonald’s will only
advertise meals that meet specific limitations for calories, fat, saturated fat and sugar recommended as part of the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans. Advertising changes will begin in January 2008 with the promotion of a 375-calorie Happy Meal that
includes four chicken McNuggets, apple slices, lowfat caramel dip and 1% lowfat milk. General Mills, PepsiCo, Mars and Kraft
have also taken this pledge. (NRN Daily NewsFax 7/20/07)
7-Eleven has passed McDonald’s as the most ubiquitous foodservice operation in the world, with 32,711 stores in 17
countries. McDonald’s has dropped to second, with 31,062 locations as of March 31st in more than 100 countries. Subway
Restaurants ranks third, with more than 27,800 units worldwide. 7-Eleven is in its 80th year of business. (Fort Worth Star-
Telegram Online 7/12/07)
McDonald’s locations in the Des Moines, IA, metro area are now offering DVD rentals. Machines inside the locations work as
vending machines. Customers use a credit or debit card for payment, make a selection and the movie is dispensed. Newly
released movies are priced at $1. The kiosks are located in 55 McDoanld’s restaurants in Des Moines and the surrounding
area. (Kcci.com 8/28/07)
McDonald’s shares will rise 18% in the coming year, UBS Securities estimates, because of its new concept, McCafé. The
McCafés are challenging Starbucks with specialty coffee drinks. Starbucks shares declined 24% in 2007, as a result of its
lowest sales growth in five years. The average price for a 20-oz. latte at a McCafé is $3.31, compared with the drink at
Starbucks for $4.48. In addition to the increased sales, McDonald’s is drawing new customers. (Bloomberg.com 9/13/07)
McDonald’s board of directors announced an annual cash dividend of $1.50 per share, to be issued December 3, to
shareholders of record as of November 15. The cash returned to shareholders is expected to total $15 billion–$17 billion in
2007–2009. (Restaurantnewsresource.com 9/13/07)
Wal-Mart now hosts more Subways than McDonald’s. Subway, which began appearing in Wal-Mart three years ago, occupies
1,419 Wal-Mart locations in the U.S., compared to McDonald’s 1,021 locations. Subway has had a successful move into retail
spaces because of its minimal operations with no fryers or grills. (Yahoo! Finance 9/14/07; Houston Chronicle Online 9/14/07)
A McDonald’s server was briefly sent to jail after selling a heavily salted Big N’ Tasty burger to a police officer. The 20-year-old
employee was arrested, handcuffed and charged with reckless conduct after the police officer returned to the Union City, GA,
unit to complain of being sickened by the burger. The employee, who admitted to accidentally spilling salt on the meat, was
freed on $1,000 bail. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 9/9/07; Yahoo! News 9/9/07)
McDonald’s is facing three new lawsuits filed in St. Charles, MO. The suits claim that McDonald’s failed to disclose that its
french fries and hash browns contained two allergens until February 2006, and that the allergens caused illness among the
plaintiffs or their children. It was claimed that McDonald’s previously identified the potato items as gluten-free on its website,
when in actuality the products contain wheat gluten and milk protein casein. Currently, McDonald’s website states that those
items contain wheat and milk. Sixteen similar suits are pending in Florida, Maryland and Chicago. (NRN Daily NewsFax
9/26/07)
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