McDonald's opened in 1940 and was purchased by Ray Kroc in 1955. It became globally known in the 1960s and has since expanded worldwide, establishing itself as one of the largest fast food chains. However, McDonald's has faced challenges recently due to health concerns about its food and changing consumer preferences. It has worked to improve perceptions through menu changes like offering all-day breakfast and more healthy options.

1. McDonald’s
JENNIFER M. JANVIER
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Figure 1. From “Our History: Ray Kroc & The McDonald's
Brothers,” by McDonald's, n.d.
(www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/about-us/our-
history.html). All rights reserved.

2. Summary
McDonald’s opened in 1940 in San Bernardino, CA. It was named after Maurice and Richard
McDonald.
Ray Kroc purchased the company from the brothers and earned the rights to the company.
McDonald‘s became globally known when it opened a store in Canada in 1967.
According to Ausburn (2018), “to be considered global, a brand must receive 30% or more of
revenue from outside of the “home” region.”
Figure 2. From “Our History: Ray Kroc & The McDonald's Brothers,” by McDonald's, n.d.
(www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/about-us/our-history.html). All rights reserved.

3. Figure 3. From “Our History: Ray
Kroc & The McDonald's
Brothers,” by McDonald's, n.d.
(www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-
us/about-us/our-history.html).
All rights reserved.

4. Hamburger University was developed to help
train employees in 1961.
McDonald's Corporation SWOT Analysis stated that “the company
reported revenues of (US Dollars) US$22,820.4 million for the fiscal year
ended December 2017 (Fiscal Year (FY) 2017), a decrease of 7.3% over
FY2016” (p. 3).
Analysis
Ronald McDonald replaced
Speedee as McDonald’s mascot
in 1967. McDonald’s began
offering happy meals with toys
in 1977. At least 20% of sales
come from happy meals.
Figure 4. From “Our History: Ray Kroc &
The McDonald's Brothers,” by McDonald's,
n.d. (www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/about-
us/our-history.html). All rights reserved.
Figure 5. From “McDonald's Corporation SWOT Analysis,”
by McDonald's Corporation SWOT Analysis, 2018. In the
public domain.

5. Positioning Strategy For many years, McDonald’s has
used the age segmentation
strategy.
Team (2017) writes, “McDonald’s
strategy to refranchise its
restaurants should generate
higher returns for its shareholders
and allow the company to capture
growth opportunities faster.”

6. “
”
Look for the Golden
Arches! - 1960
I’m lovin’ it - 2003
Famous Quotes Associated with McDonald’s
According to McDonald’s CEO, Steve Easterbrook (as cited in Kowitt, 2016), “when we
can bring aspirational experiences to the majority of our customers at affordable
prices, good things start to happen” (p. 80).

7. Figure 6: Targets for McDonald
customers (Source: Dudovskiy
2016)

8. Health Concerns
“Super Size Me” movie comes
out in 2004.
Everyone begins to question
McDonald’s and everything it
stands for.
Concerns about obesity.
Expired meat being used.
Food high in trans fat.
Figure 7. From “Our History: Ray Kroc & The McDonald's
Brothers,” by McDonald's, n.d.
(www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/about-us/our-
history.html). All rights reserved.

9. Competitors
Figure 8. From “Our History: Ray Kroc & The McDonald's Brothers,” by McDonald's, n.d.
(www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/about-us/our-history.html). All rights reserved.

10. What differentiates McDonald’s from its
competition?
 The quality of the food at McDonald’s has been rated lower than it’s
competition.
 The dollar menu offers limited options.
 The original dollar menu items have increased in price.
 All day breakfast is only offered at McDonald’s.
 Too many items on the menu, which increases cost and safety
concerns.

11. All Day Breakfast
In October 2015, McDonald’s
began to offer breakfast all hours
of the day.
This option helped McDonald’s
climb back up the fast food chain
market.
The Egg McMuffin is one of the
most popular breakfast options.
Figure 9. From “Our History: Ray Kroc & The McDonald's
Brothers,” by McDonald's, n.d. (www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-
us/about-us/our-history.html). All rights reserved.

12. Breakfast
Figure 10. From “McDonald's Set to Offer All-Day Breakfast” by Jargon, (2015).
(https://www.wsj.com/articles/mcdonalds-set-to-offer-all-day-breakfast-
1441134058). All rights reserved.

13. Recent Changes
Decline in Revenues
 Baertlein (2017) states, “McDonald’s
fourth-quarter revenue fell nearly 5
percent to $6.03 billion, mainly due to
the sale of restaurants to franchisees
as part of Easterbrook’s turnaround
plan.”
Change of dollar menu, all day breakfast, and fewer junk food options.
Figure 11. From “Our History: Ray Kroc & The McDonald's
Brothers,” by McDonald's, n.d. (www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-
us/about-us/our-history.html). All rights reserved.

14. Ways to Reposition McDonald’s brand
 Close restaurants that aren’t performing
as well as others.
 Serve food with fewer calories and
display the number of calories on the
menu.
 Reduce menu options.
 Keep up with market trends.
 Use social media more to advertise
changes and new additions.
 Paharia, Avery, and Keinan (2014) stated
that “when a brand is presented in a
competitive context, consumers
consider not only each brand’s
attributes but also which brand they
want to support and whether their own
purchase choices can make a difference
in the marketplace” (p. 648).

15. Attract More Consumers
 McDonald’s could attract more consumers by offering more healthier options.
 Coconut oil is considered a healthy and beneficial oil. McDonald’s could use this to
cook and fry food.
 Reducing the amount of sugar in all food and drink options should be considered
as well.
 Offer 4 items for $4. A sandwich, drink, fries, and two cookies.
 Offer smaller portions. Instead of regular or large sized sandwiches, McDonald’s
should offer mini burgers.

16. Changes to Menu
McDonald‘s should consider offering burger bowls, veggie burgers, lettuce wraps.
Offer grilled chicken sandwiches.
Replacing buns with lettuce, sweet potato slices, or tomatoes.
Replacing french fries with sweet potato fries.
Replacing biscuits with hashbrowns.
Figure 12. From “Our History: Ray Kroc & The
McDonald's Brothers,” by McDonald's, n.d.
(www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/about-us/our-
history.html). All rights reserved.

17. REFERENCES
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