Can McDonalds Escape Their Downward Spiral?

For half of the 20^th century and into the 21^st McDonalds has been an American staple as well as a worldwide chain. It still maintains its position as the world’s largest food chain, but its numbers have steadily declined for the past 5 years without any sign of promise. Growing trends of upscale, fast burger chains promising higher quality food for a slightly greater price along with non-burger chains like Chipotle have killed business. Their underlying struggle is their image that has proved very tough to change as the market moves towards more health consciences “fast food” options.

 

Another CEO Steve Easterbrook has taken over, and he has the difficult task of trying to appeal to the leaving faction of customers, or their traditional customer. The majority of their business consists drive-through patrons ordering their signature Big Mac, but a growing portion of consumers are taking their business to other options. McDonalds has tried to counter this problem in the past with products like the Angus Deluxe Burger or Egg White McMuffin with little success.

While I don’t think the McDonalds brand is dying anytime soon, I do believe they are to a point where their image is beyond redefinition. A combination of bad publicity, including documentaries like Supersize Me, have convinced most everyone who can afford it to avoid the golden arches. How they try to adapt will likely be a tell to how their competitors respond to the changing market as well.