Mcdonald's Case Analysis

McDonald’s

Case Analysis

Marketing 514

17 April 2013

McDonald’s is the first restaurant that comes to mind when I think of fast food. Over the years I’ve eaten my fair share of Big Macs, Quarter-Pounders, 20-count Chicken McNuggets, and even a few Happy Meals. Their dominance in the fast food industry is gaping, and they have done a good job marketing themselves over the years. However, with the world becoming a global marketplace, restaurants are expanding, consumers are eating out more and more, and the consumer becoming ever more selective of their food choice, McDonald’s must keep up with the rapid pace of change in order to stay relevant, and stay in the lead.

Over the past few years, the environment has been trending away from the desire for a greasy hamburger. Consumers are beginning to value healthy options and companies are offering this. Take Wendy’s for example. Their Garden Sensation salads have contributed to their astonishing growth, and have helped boost Wendy’s to a “formidable foe” for other fast food restaurants in the upcoming year. Consumers are also being made aware of non-hamburger fast food options, such as tacos, burritos, flat-bread sandwiches, etc. This is moving McDonald’s to rethink their menu item offering.

McDonald’s operates in a saturated marketplace. There are so many fast food and fast casual restaurants to choose from such as Wendy’s, Hardees, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), Pizza Hut, Subway, Moe’s, Willy’s, Arbys, Taco Casa, Panda Express, Chipotle, Panera Bread, Atlanta Bread Company, Firehouse Subs, Chick-fil-A, Zaxby’s, Dairy Queen, Captain D’s, Popeye’s Chicken, Church’s Chicken, Blimpie Subs, and not to mention the service stations and grocery stores who are now offering quick lunches.

McDonald’s has solid financials and seems to be in a good situation to take risks with new menu items and strategies. They are introducing a pork tenderloin sandwich, brownie, and tender chicken sandwich...