trend within the company has been to open smaller units in airports, bus stations, and hospitals. It is also placing "mini-restaurants" establishments such as Wal-Mart, Amoco, and Chevron stores.
Financial Trends for the Last Five Years
Most analysts and reporters, when discussing McDonald's recent five year performance use the term "sluggish" an analytical slang that usually implies a state of financial health that is not critical or life-threatening, just slightly off balance. Sluggishness can be due to many things. It can be:
* A reflection of the economy as a whole
* Based on a contentment with being number one. If you're the strongest, why exercise.
* Inability to correctly strategize.
* Indicative that the $103 billion-a-year fast-food industry is slowing down.
A 1997 report in Time Magazine pointed out that the sales "advanced just 3% last year [1996], to $16.4 billion. Even that was only because the company added 726 stores... but sales in stores open a year declined by a like amount last year" (Saporito, 1997, 42). One McDonald's franchisee stated in a telephone interview that "McDonald's doesn't care about American sales anymore. Their big money is going to come from overseas sales" (Catain, 1999). He was referring to the aggressive domestic expansion program, which was conducted from 1993 to 1997.
The company itself admits the mistake (by a top level shakeup) and is now looking for future growth to come from overseas. In fact, it is opening some five overseas outlets each day overseas restaurants (nearly half of its total) account for more than 60% of its sales and profits. The burger chain also decided in 1998 to cut jobs for the first time in its history. McDonald's eliminated about 23% -- some 525 employees -- of its home office work force (Hoover's Online).
"We still have a lot of work to do to unlock the potential of our business," is the way Jack Greenberg, the new chief executi...