McDonalds New Europe Trend

In the USA we find Starbucks located to another almost right next door and without seemingly big problems.
In my observation their main customer base seems like college age and a bit above but obviously I must be wrong because I hardly believe it would support such a success in the US. By the same token I doubt in France that its success in France is due to Am,erican tourists. In my last coffee in a French Starbucks I think my wife and I were the only Americans....but the age group was definitely young.And this defies the average age going higher. Starbucks (in the USA at least) is relatively expensive...another reason to question my observation.

Well, Toulouse McDo closing was never a symptom of the firm bad health. It was at least ten years ago, but if I remember well this bankruptcy was so surprising that it deserved an analyze by the “Herald Tribune”.

Toulouse is known for its gastronomy, and you can find in the city many places where you can eat delicious local meals. But the main reason for this McDo’s dying was the concurrence of a… McDo, better situated and at less than 1km from this one.

Christophe (and we are SOOOOO glad to see you ;-)

Your statement intrigued me.

This is posted in a financial page -- dated today.


MCDONALD'S EXPECTS 2Q LOSS

CHICAGO — McDonald's Corp. said Monday it expects to post its second quarterly loss in more than 50 years because of a hefty one-time charge on the sale of some Latin American operations.

But the world's biggest fast-food restaurant chain said its business is growing because of momentum from its popular breakfast menu.

McDonald's said it expects to report a net loss of 60 cents per share when it releases second-quarter earnings July 24.

But excluding a $1.31-per-share charge for the sale in Latin America, McDonald's said it likely would surpass Wall Street forecasts and earn 71 cents per share from continuing operations for the quarter ending June 30. That's a 27 percent increase from the 56-cents-per-share profit it posted a year earlier.


ON THE OTHER HAND, I'm not going to take pity on the company's stock holders. Ray Krock did well by them ....

You're perfectly right. In France "McDo" is just a convenient place where to eat when you have no time to lose and where you're sure that you won't have any bad surprise (nor good, by the way).

Nothing exotic in there. And by the way, they adapted to the French taste, by providing salads more adapted to customers who didn't want to spoil their diet in one meal, even if they are almost as fat as a regular Big Mac ("they" refers to the salads, not the customers).

It's ideal in travel, and kids love it (eating with fingers, yummy !)

By the way, Toulouse used to be famous for being the only place in the world where a McDo bankrupted (I'm not sure it's still true).

I hardly think that McDo in Europe has exotic appeal any more as it probably did in thebeginning. It is popular for what it is rather than as an import.

In NY Chinese and Italian food (whether in the restaurant or take out) are so so popular and I would guarantee that most of us hardly think of it as exotic foreign food. They are standard options without a romantic attatchment.

Ellen: I would tend to agree with your theory. (Sorry, St. G.) I saw a documentary recently about McDo's and its expansion into Mainland China. There are already something like 8,000 and the number is projected to double before the Oympics.

The Golden Arches have joined with the country's #1 gas distributor. McDo's has introduced its first drive-thru ......something the Chinese have to be taught how to use. Now THAT concept is really foreign.

I think it is more a question of cost and what you are familiar with, as distinct from what is foreign. At least with the Starbucks that you mentioned, whenever I walk by it seems that most of the time the customers going in are either students or tourists from the US.

When my son and I went to Paris a couple of years ago, he craved Starbucks, so we went to the one at Place Odeon (I think?). At the table behind us, a French father was savoring his frappuccino while his daughter was enjoying her happy meal. The Starbucks was overflowing.

Don't you think part of the attraction is that it's "foreign" - or different? I think we get used to what we've grown up with and what's new and different is attractive.

Louise and others:

Please remember that being able to feed a family at McDo's, in some countries, is a sign of affluence. Sad but true when you consider some of the meals' nutritional value.

But - if there's a play-gym, an outing to McDo's can last hours and hours.

I've seen parents in France spend the day reading or talking with their friends while their offspring play in the super safe (and now- sometime AC'd) environment.

One evening, while dining alone, I was seated near a table of French
and Japanese business people. As their common language was English,
I was able to listen in on their conversation. A universal complaint
was that during Saturday family excursions the only place the children
from either France or Japan wanted to have lunch was McDonald's.

Louise

When my son lived in Morocco, he said families dressed up to have a night out at McDonald's. It was the place to go.

This brings to mind in the 1980's when I "traveled" Brazil that a McDo in Sao Paulo claimed to be the largest in the world......and it certainly was.

I believe I read recently that France is McDonald's most profitable market outside of the US.

In a way it's sad to see so much infiltration of American culture throughout the world, yet other cultures accept and even demand it, and in today's world globalization is inevitable. That said, it's nice to see them adapting the products to the local cultures (which means that the local cultures fortunately have not disappeared!).

As much as they make fun of it, I know plenty of French people who go to McDonald's because it's quick and easy and the prices are hard to beat. While it's true they're offering a variety of healthier foods (I walked past one today that was advertising a salmon salad), I think the burgers and fries are still the most in demand.

I can see where the updating trend would help in Europe and areas where the restaurants have a lot of foot traffic. It simply gives them more curb appeal and makes them more inviting to eat in... I imagine there's also some psychology at work there that says nicer environment = bigger meal purchased rather than a simple burger and fries in a bag to go. In car-based parts of the US, where so many people go through the drive-thru or stop for a quick meal, I don't think updating would make any difference; again, perhaps in certain urban areas where there's a lot of foot traffic, it might attract more customers.

I certainly think there's a lot of room for updating without losing their image.

Al - thanks for the interesting article.

Ellen - how I bet people are fighting for the McDo franchises in the Balkins. It's only a matter of time.
Economists have been known to evaluate differening costs of living based on the cost of a McDo's meal.

I'm sure I was one of the BPers lamenting the Americanization of France and Europe, but at the same time, I think it's inevitable, thanks to worldwide marketing and mega corporations like McDonald's, Starbucks, and others.

Someone told me recently that companies use the presence or lack of McDonald's in a country as a barometer of the economy to determine whether or not to invest in that country. When we traveled through the Balkans earlier this year, we didn't see one McDonald's despite their love for the US and everything American.

I've noticed over the past years a resentment among some BPers of the Americanization of France and all of Europe for thant matter of fact.

An article in yesterday's NYTimes Business section show some updating of the European McDonald which by the way has its European CEO none other than a Frenchman and more interesting is before the updating the growth rate of Big Mac in all of Europe was greater than the growth of its parent in the USA.
This seems to be the case whether it was Le Jazz Hot in the beginning or coffee from Seattle today.

Who is more at fault.....the American enterpreneurs who introduce our culture or the Europeans who readily accept.

What is just as interesting is whether the updating in London (follow the link) will be a trend in Europe and/or the rest of the world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/25/business...amp;oref=slogin