McDonald’s Franchise Owners Confirm: Fast Food Giant “Facing Its Final Days”

30

By Nick Bernabe at theantimedia.org

 

San Diego, CA — Embattled fast food giant McDonald’s is making headlines yet again. The company has just launched its much advertised all-day breakfast program, but as that campaign rolls out, franchise owners are voicing their concerns over what may be the company’s dying days.

As we covered at Anti-Media in June, the McDonald’s franchise has been shrinking for the first time in the company’s over 40 year history:

“McDonald’s announced in April that it would be closing 700 ‘underperforming’ locations, but because of the company’s sheer size — it has 14,300 locations in the United States alone — this was not necessarily a reduction in the size of the company, especially because it continues to open locations around the world. It still has more than double the locations of Burger King, its closest competitor.”

However, for the franchisees, the picture looks much worse than simply 700 stores closing down.

“We are in the throes of a deep depression, and nothing is changing,” a franchise owner wrote in response to a financial survey by Nomura Group.“Probably 30% of operators are insolvent.” One owner went as far as to speculate that McDonald’s is literally “facing its final days.”

Franchisees have also been complaining about the erratic nature of McDonald’s corporate decision-making process. As Business Insider reports, “The lack of consistent leadership from Oak Brook is frightening, we continue to jump from one failed initiative to another.” They are likely referring to the company’s many marketing schemes that have been implemented recently to slow the bleeding of younger customers as they choose healthier, more local options en masse. As Anti-Media also reported in June,

“Though the chain has dominated the fast food market for decades, recent competition and health consciousness has challenged the popularity of its product. The growth of chains like Chipotle, which recently stopped using genetically modified ingredients, has reportedly diverted customers away from McDonald’s. Additionally, the company is losing a share of its young patrons while the rise of boutique burger chains such as Five Guys has put a dent in profits.

[…] The increased closures denote a growing shift in dietary preferences among Americans. This is consistent with recent moves by fast food chains to remove toxic chemicals from their ingredients, as well as with the exponential growth of organic, healthy alternatives.”

IN-DEPTH: Monsanto to Cut 2,600 Jobs as World Rejects its Products and Practices
RELATED: Obama’s New Appointee to Head the FDA Is a Big Pharma Mega-Lobbyist
OPINION: Tom Brady Just Said Coca-Cola Is Poison and Food Companies Lie to Us

Are we seeing McDonald’s final days? If the trend towards healthier alternatives to McDonald’s continues, it’s a very real possibility.

This article (McDonald’s Franchise Owners Confirm: Fast Food Giant “Facing Its Final Days”) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Nick Bernabe andtheAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email[email protected].

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT US VIA PATREON

Get Your Anonymous T-Shirt / Sweatshirt / Hoodie / Tanktop, Smartphone or Tablet Cover or Mug In Our Spreadshirt Shop! Click Here

 

30 COMMENTS

  1. Fast food places; $7+ for a meal, crap ingredients, no customer service, poor efficiency in placing and getting your order?

    Yeah, no thanks; I’ll local small business restaurant.

  2. The only reason I go in there is because their cheeseburger is the only meat my 5-year-old will eat unfortunately. He also enjoys their play structures.

    I would certainly not go there on my own to eat, but every time we go it’s packed so it’s difficult to believe they are having financial trouble.

    • Your 5-year-old shouldn’t even know yet that You can eat in places like McDonald’s!!! Unfortunately?! Fortunes have nothing to do with it. Dumb parrents do.

    • He eats it because you allow him too, there’s too many options out there that are just as nice and actually meat. Come on! Stop being lazy and be the parent your kid needs you to be. Thats just an excuse!!!

  3. Thank god people are finally waking up to the bullshit being fed to us all through these corporate pigs who care only for their bottom lines instead of the people who they chose to serve, or I mean slowly kill off with their lack of nutrition in the slop being served. How much longer till we see no more nasty expensive fast food and start seeing more healthy fares.

    • I know what I’m buying and that’s hangover food salt and lots more crap…don’t look at the menu if you already know or think you know…rubber clown babies..

  4. The quality of ingredients are not fit for animal food. Why the hell would we eat this cheap or encourage our children to do so.

    Even if the ingredients are improved, I would still not visit any of your out let’s as your staff are not service orientated.

    The food defiantly is not presented like it’s advertised. The food is badly mishandled and presented in a mess in the container.

    Regards
    Be Antoncich
    Plumstead
    Cape Town
    South Africa.

  5. Good, we need to get some real BBQ pit restaurants opened up. No body gives a McShit about the golden arches no more. It’s all about the pits!!!

    • Actually it doesn’t. I don’t usually post on these type of sites but I don’t want people reading this comment and believing it. McDonald’s used to be associated with Chipotle but they no longer have ties. Since like 2007 they haven’t been associated with each other.

    • McDonald’s own Boston Market also… they tore down a boston market to put up another arches as if they needed one on every corner in Sarasota Fl. Now we have not one Boston Market which served very good food as opposed to the Golden Arches…. Bring back Boston Market!!!

  6. McDonald’s buys a lot of GMOs in the food it’s about time people started to vote with their dollars. And shut their crap down.

  7. …one of these days McD’s management will stop hiring ignoramuses wanting to “hang-out” for the next check, scream, howl and show-off all afternoon and night, and wake-up to the fact that customers want the privacy of booths(not tables) with employees staying behind the counter and keeping their mouths shut…

  8. Mixed emotions on this one. While I agree that the health of America has been compromised by this constant ingestion of their food, I also hate to see any businesses close their doors. If the people in America really wanted healthy foods, there are plenty of options other than MCD’s. It seems they want this stuff!
    McD’s has added healthier options, to try to appease those who want those healthier choices……..perhaps it isn’t working. I am for them staying in business and making an even greater effort to provide more healthier options for the masses!

  9. it is hard to believe that they are set to fail! In our home town of 30,000 we have 3 thriving McD. I think they need to pay more to get better employees, then to keep them. To much turnover leads to poor operation.

    • Burger flipping is meant to be entry level work. If minimum wage goes to $15 an hour, very quickly behind that you will have fast food joints that employ no more than 2 or 3 people per shift. There will be no cashiers as everything will become automated to replace those workers. The cost for labor has just about reached the point of being too expensive to continue. It is better to pay maybe $1500 for a kiosk that costs pennies an hour to operate versus paying a live person that kind of money.

  10. McDonalds began its downfall when it started catering to n!ggers. The service sucks,they always get your order wrong, the manager is too busy trying to screw the 16 year old cashier to open another register for the line out the door. Never mind the violent gangs of n!ggers that are fighting stabbing and shooting each other in the restaurants! McN!ggers:Bah bah bah bah bahhhh “Ize beez lubbin DAT sheeit!”

    • You have come-up with the only reason I can think of for patronising McDonalds Ty. That being you hate the place

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here