Mcdonalds Strengths And Weaknesses

Background McDonalds Corporation is the world largest hamburger restaurant serving millions of customers daily around the world. McDonalds was founded in 1940 by two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California (Dess, Lumpkin, Eiser, & McNamara, 2014). The hallmark of the brother’s success was the speedy process at which they cooked and served their hamburgers. In 1954 Ray Kroc, a traveling salesman, visited the McDonald brothers restaurant and was impressed at the speed and efficiency of their operation. Kroc had a vision of multiple locations of McDonald’s restaurants and became the company’s first franchisee. Kroc would eventually buy out the McDonald brothers’ equity stake. It is Ray Kroc who is responsible

Small children from the time they can speak can identify McDonald’s golden arches and ask for a Happy Meal. Most kids learn early on to consider McDonald's products a tasty treat. According to an article by KJ Dell’Antonia, it turns out that if you stick a McDonald's label on carrots, kids will tell you that they taste better (Dell’Antonia, 2010). From kid centered commercials to the toys that they put in their Happy Meals, children are conditioned at a very early age to become loyal McDonald customers. Another strength of McDonald Corp. is their history of strong financial performance. McDonalds is known for shareholder-friendly efforts intended to provide investor returns. The fast food industry is a very competitive space and requires constant innovation and new product development to maintain a competitive advantage. McDonalds has shown their ability to forecast and put into action what their customer wants and needs are. A great example is the McCafé line which is exceeding performance expectations. McCafé now generates about $4 billion annually in the US (Kate Taylor, 2017). The third strength is McDonald’s multidomestic strategy. One thing that McDonalds does really well is change their menu to fit the needs and tastes of the market they are entering into. This is seen especially in the global markets. The company is known to research the local customers’ tastes when creating their menu.

McDonalds does have salads; however, they never change. A great opportunity would be to create seasonal and regional offerings. Another recommendation would be to increase their market share in China. Western influences in China have resulted in an increased demand for fast food. With KFC being the number one brand there is growth opportunity for McDonalds. The last recommendation would be to modernize more locations to be more family friendly. A chain that is very responsive to the needs of the family is Chic-Fil-A. They are innovators in this space and have marketed specifically to moms. They have even introduced a call ahead program where busy moms can call and order their food before they reach the restaurant and a server will have it ready at a table when you arrive. This is invaluable to a busy mom with multiple children. McDonalds was started as restaurant where you can get quality food quickly, and for a great price. If McDonalds can continue to cater to the modern family stock shares will continue increasing in the near