McDonalds: History, Marketing Strategy, SWOT Analysis

Outline of the paper

The paper has been divided in a numbre of topics. The first topic of the paper is the Overview. Presenting the overview of McDonalds the first line of the heading mentions from a hamburger stand operated by the Mac brothers in San Bernardino, California, McDonald's Corporation has grown to become the best known and most popular fast-food restaurant chain in the world. The second heading of the paper is Company Finances, the third heading of the paper presents Analysts' Opinions, the fourth heading of the paper discusses the History McDonalds. The next important headings of the paper are Strategy, Influences, Current Trends, Products, Corporate, Citizenship, Global Presence, the paper ends at Conclusion

Overview

From a hamburger stand operated by the Mac brothers in San Bernardino, California, McDonald's Corporation has grown to become the best known and most popular fast-food restaurant chain in the world. At the end of 1997, McDonald's had 23,132 franchised and company-owned restaurants, or "stores," with 12,380 in the United States. In 1997, 2,110 new stores opened and the company planned to open between 2,400 and 2,800 additional units worldwide, with over 70 percent of those units outside the United States (Donna Summer Stars in $100 Mil McD's Push, p. 48).

Company Finances

Boas and Steve (pp. 25-67) mention in 1997 worldwide sales were $33.6 billion. Total revenues were $11.4 billion. Average sales per store were $1.6 million. Net income per share was $2.35. In the 1997 annual report, Chairman Mike Quinlan forecasted, "We expect net income per common share growth in the range of 10 to 15 percent in each of the next five years, excluding foreign currency translation" (Boas and Steve, pp. 25-67).

Analysts' Opinions

While acknowledging that the company remains the leader in the fast-food business, a December 1996 report by Natwest Securities stated that, in 1996, McDonald's stock price had been outperformed by the Standard & Poor's 500 (an index of 500 company stock prices). Indeed, McDonald's stock price has not been reflective of the mid- to late 1990s bull market. An October 1996 report by Bear, Stearns & Company discussed the company's challenges: "McDonald's shares have been under pressure as it has become increasingly evident that the company has problems in its U.S. operations; sales have been soft recently despite heavy marketing for the new Deluxe sandwich line and the Summer Olympics sponsorship" (Boas and Steve, pp. 25-67). However, the report recommended that investors purchase the stock, and it anticipated success for efforts to increase the amount of the average order in U.S. stores. In 1998 industry analysts praised the appointment of Jack Greenberg to the helm. A New York Times report quoted Wheat First Union's Jeffrey Omohundro, who said, "His leadership in those areas is being recognized. I think it's Greenberg's ship, and he is the captain" (Mariani, pp. 34-46).

History

Dick and Mac McDonald opened their first McDonald's restaurant in December 1948 in San Bernardino, California (Donna Summer Stars in $100 Mil McD's Push, p. 48). While the brothers did some ...