McDonalds Struggling - Selling "Secret Sauce" for $18k a Bottle

They have a very, very, very long way to fall as they have three times the systemwide sales as their nearest competitor, and 4 times the systemwide sales of their nearest burger competitor. Shake Shack is nowhere on the map, and they won't be for at least a decade or two, or three, if ever.

If you walk into a McDonald's today, you will see it is filled with a lot of younger people and lower income folks, and that makes up a large percentage of the people eating that stuff.

McDonalds ain't going anywhere, anytime soon, because a large part of that market segment actually likes greasy, low cost, fast food. Yes, a lot of lower income folks do eat at McDonalds, and some say the recent decline may have something to do with the price point of their healthier menu options ---> it is too high for a large percentage of their clientele as much of their clientele are almost broke.

Contrary to what some here are saying, McDonalds does have a some decent healthy menu options, but they are priced out of reach of a large part of their customer base.



I very rarely eat at McDonalds these days (like once every couple of years) but on average year over year, and decade over decade, they get the job done. Sure, if I don't eat at a local mom and pop shop, or fancier restaurant, I much prefer Chipotle, Subway and Chic-fil-a etc. but I can tell you many of the kids don't. In-fact if you ask my brother's kids (and he has 6 of them), they would much prefer going to McDonalds over many of the choices you or I would make.

McDonalds serves a certain market, and they will make a few adjustments and continue on just like the always do.

You don't get in 100 countries and serve 69 million customers a day by doing stuff the wrong way. You get there by doing things the right way, and McDonalds has a long and storied history of doing things the right way.

And yes, I know a bit about CSRs and their customer base as my wife was an 18 year GM for DQ, and opened one the flagship Grill & Chills (the upscale DQ with the extended food menu) for them. In-fact we almost bought a DQ for ourselves a couple of years ago. When we were considering that purchase we had a TON of numbers to compare industry wide, and I can tell you the McDonalds numbers looked pretty good, but were a bit rich for our blood.

I agree with Business Insider and some of the others, they need to make some of their healthier options more affordable. Beyond that, they need keep franchise opportunities within reach (competitive with most) for those who are willing to enter the highly competitive QSR industry.

Cheers

-don

McDonald's lost millennials, and they've lost children, according to this article by Motley Fool.

The thing is ... CEOs are not autonomous by any stretch of the imagination. Take for example the difference of opinion in the direction of the company that George Zimmerman founded, Men's Wearhouse. George disagreed with the Board of Directors on company vision, a company that he founded. He lost the argument and was fired.