MC DONALD’S
Introduction
McDonald’s has long become one of the most recognized and respected fast food brands
in the world. It has established more than 35,000 franchising stores in 119 countries,
serving more than 47 million people each day, and generating about $15 billions revenues
annually. How can McDonald’s achieve such success? There are many formulating
strategies behind, which can be analyzed by using PESTEL factors or Porter’s
competitive strategies model. Obviously, it is extremely important for McDonald’s to
choose the most appropriate strategy to be successful. It is also very important to consider
how McDonald’s applies these strategies and how their strategies interact with their
business structure and the external environment. This study will concentrate on the
analysis and evaluation of the market strucure, industrial environment and also the
economy performance and also the strategy analysis of the McDonald’s Corp.
Brief history
McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most famous American fast-food chain in the
world known for its hamburgers. The first McDonald’s restaurant was started in 1948 by
brothers Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California. In 1954 Ray Kroc a
milkshake-mixer saleman visited the restaurant and was so impressed by their efficiency
of their operation that he pitched his vision of creating 1,000 McDonald’s restaurants
across the US. On April 15, 1955, he opened the first McDonald’s franchise in Des
Plaines, Illinois, and in the same year launched the McDonald’s Corporation. In 1958,
Mc Donald’s sells its 100 millionth hamburgers. Eventually Kroc bought out the
McDonald brothers for $2.7 million in 1961. The chain continued to expand domestically
and internationally, extending to Canadaand Puerto Rico, reaching a total of 10,000
restaurants by 1988, and operating more than 36,000 outlets in more than 100 countries in
the early 21st century. By 1995, more than half of all McDonald’s restaurants were
located outside the United States and by 2000, McDonald’s was already serving fifty
million people a day (Duiker & Spielvogel 2010, p. 937). McDonald’s also continuously
enhances its brand imagine through different social activities and the sponsorship of
special events and sports i.e. as a major sponsor of the world cup since 1994 and the
Champions League football in England from 1996 to 2000.(www.McDonalds.com).
Duiker, W. J. & Spielvogel, J. J. 2010, World History. Boston MA: Wadsworth, Cengage
Learning. p. 937