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SECTION I. THE BUSINESS

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

McDonald’s Corporation franchises and operates McDonald's restaurants in the United States, Europe, the Asia/Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Canada, and Latin America. Its restaurants offer various food items, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages, as well as breakfast menus. As of December 31, 2012, the company operated 34,480 restaurants in 119 countries, of which 27,882 were franchised or licensed, including 19,869 franchised to conventional franchisees, 4,350 licensed to developmental licensees, and 3,663 licensed to foreign affiliates; and 6,598 were operated by the company. McDonald’s Corporation was founded in 1940 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Business Mission

The strength of the alignment among the Company, its franchisees and suppliers (collectively referred to as the System) has been key to McDonald’s success.  This business model enables McDonald’s to deliver consistent, locally-relevant restaurant experiences to customers and be an integral part of the communities we serve.  In addition, it facilitates our ability to identify, implement and scale innovative ideas that meet customers’ changing needs and preferences.

McDonald’s customer-focused Plan to Win provides a common framework for our global business yet allows for local adaptation.  Through the execution of initiatives surrounding the five elements of our Plan to Win – People, Products, Place, Price and Promotion – we have enhanced the restaurant experience for customers worldwide and grown comparable sales and customer visits in each of the last eight years.  This Plan, combined with financial discipline, has delivered strong results for our shareholders.

Company Values

We place the customer experience at the core of all we do. Our customers are the reason for our existence. We demonstrate our appreciation by providing them...