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Wired: All-Day Breakfast Won’t Be Enough to Save McDonald’s

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X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
http://www.wired.com/2015/10/alas-day-breakfast-wont-enough-save-mcdonalds/

So, yeah, the fast-food chain is kind of in a slump right now. But hey, it has a solution: all-day breakfast!

You’ve probably already heard about this, but here’s the rundown one more time: Starting today, McDonald’s is debuting all-day breakfast across 14,300 US locations. The initiative was in testing as early as March, according to The Wall Street Journal. But now the infrastructure (read: new grills and toasters) is officially in place so that the fast food restaurant can offer “core” menu items, including sausage burritos and hot cakes, well past the traditional breakfast cutoff of 10:30am. Unfortunately, McDonald’s will offer other items like Egg McMuffins in a limited capacity, depending on the region. (Vicious rumors aside, McDonald’s will reportedly be offering hash browns all day at most of its locations.)

If all-day breakfast sounds like a bit of a gimmicky tactic, that’s because it, uh, kind of is. It’s all part of the plan from Steve Easterbrook, who took over as McDonald’s CEO in March, to turn the ailing Golden Arches into a “modern, progressive” burger company. “The message is clear. We’re not on our game,” Easterbrook said in a video statement announcing the company’s turnaround plan. “The numbers don’t lie.” McDonald’s did not return WIRED’s request for comment.
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But as much as we all love all-day breakfast, as much as we appreciate being able to satisfy the hankering for an Egg McMuffin when it’s, inconveniently, dinnertime, all-day breakfast might not be enough to save McDonald’s. The company might do well to take a page from another close competitor’s playbook, a competitor that’s been killing it all along: Starbucks. But the edge for Starbucks isn’t just pumpkin spice. Unlike McDonald’s, Starbucks has shown that it gets our current technological moment.
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Richard Adams, a former McDonald’s franchisee and now founder of Franchise Equity Group, says it’s not surprising that McDonald’s is behind Starbucks in its digital strategy—and it’s probably going to continue to lag behind the coffee company. The problem, he says, is that while Starbucks can make decisions about coupon offers and loyalty programs and implement them broadly and quickly, McDonald’s often rolls out unique promotions for its different clusters of franchises. “Starbucks, meanwhile, can do whatever it wants because it doesn’t have franchisees,” Adams says.

Though Adams thinks an aggressive mobile strategy might not be the best fit for McDonald’s right now, he acknowledges the possibility that in time it could ultimately help the company reach new audiences. “It can grow,” he says. “One thing I know is McDonald’s want to attract millennials.” And mobile is where millennials are. But even if McDonald’s move towards mobile is inevitable, Adams believes the process will be more slow-going than it would be at other, smaller, more nimble chains.
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In France, the McDonald’s mobile app is pretty successful, which Thomas Husson, a principal analyst at research firm Forrester, studied last year. Apparently in France, you can order a Big Mac anytime on a mobile device and pick it up later at any of McDonald’s 1200 restaurants. But it’s the only country in the world where you can do this. “I would certainly not say McDonald’s does not have a mobile strategy,” Husson says. And where it’s actually in place, it may be working. McDonald’s drop in sales in June was not as dismal as some analysts thought it would be, thanks to a 2.3 percent increase in sales in—you guessed it—Europe.

But Husson agrees that convincing US franchisees is another battle altogether. “Executing a mobile strategy requires time and lots of changes in culture, organization and processes,” he says. “It is tougher to convince franchisees since they may want to prioritize other opportunities that could have a faster return on investment.”

That’s not to say that all-day breakfast will fail for McDonald’s. In fact, it will probably work quite well, especially at the beginning. An analyst for RBC Capital Markets told the Journal that by extending breakfast to all day, the sausage burritos and pancakes and other meals we enjoy in the morning could push 29 percent of McDonald’s sales. Either way, for a beleaguered company, that’s a boost.

But the big-picture argument is over. Mobile is king. Smartphones are shoes. And at least in that arena, McDonald’s would do well to emulate the clear leader in mobile apps and retail ordering. “The Starbucks app is now a reference of a mobile payment success story over the world,” says IHS’ Kent. “Mobile has changed people’s expectations to be served in context, in their moments of need.”
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epQklfP.gif


MILLENNIALS MILLENNIALS MILLENNIALS MILLENNIALS
 
B

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
"Keep throwing mobile at it until money comes out!!"
 
B

BreezyLimbo

Banned
First Millennials won't vote, then millennials are secretly more racist than everyone else, and now they're killing McDonalds.

Thanks Millennials.
 
?

>:)

Member
Here's an idea...how bout All-Day EVERYTHING! Why do I have to wait to get fries or chicken nuggets until 10:30-11:00? I mean it seems to work out for Jack
 
A

Anth0ny

Member
as far I know millennials still go to clubs and need drunk food at 4am


you'll always have your place mcdonalds
 
L

Lunar15

Member
Millennials are definitely in mobile. We must find out how to enter their mobileverse and extract them once and for all!
 
Haint

Haint

Member
Mobile wat? Are they saying they should make Clash of Big Mac's or Angry McNuggets? That's some Sneak King 2.0 level shit.
 
N

NewGame

Banned
If they could make delux pancakes + all day I might become one of those obese people who drive around on mopeds.
 
R

RevoDS

Junior Member
As a millenial, as much as I spend time on my phone, I'm not especially waiting for a McD's app.
 
J

Jest Chillin

Member
Anth0ny said:
as far I know millennials still go to clubs and need drunk food at 4am


you'll always have your place mcdonalds
Click to expand...

Jack in the Box or Taco Bell were my go to spots when I was in that phase of my life. Jack is greasier, which is something my drunk self always preferred and Taco Bells tortillas/ground beef combo worked well too. And it's cheaper.
 
S

Syncytia

Member
Well, everyone knows they shot themselves in the foot by not having the McGriddle all day.

That said, this mobile shit is stupid. So... I can order on my phone and then go through the drive through anyway? "I uhh.. already ordered on my phone..." What does that accomplish over just ordering at the drive through the normal way? McDonalds takes like 30 seconds to make anything anyway, it isn't like waiting in the drive through is really an issue unless it's rush time I guess.
 
V

VGChampion

Member
>:) said:
Here's an idea...how bout All-Day EVERYTHING! Why do I have to wait to get fries or chicken nuggets until 10:30-11:00? I mean it seems to work out for Jack
Click to expand...

I'd love it but I'd feel bad for the kitchens. Even with a limited menu at McD's it's probably tougher.

Syncytia said:
Well, everyone knows they shot themselves in the foot by not having the McGriddle all day.

That said, this mobile shit is stupid. So... I can order on my phone and then go through the drive through anyway? "I uhh.. already ordered on my phone..." What does that accomplish over just ordering at the drive through the normal way? McDonalds takes like 30 seconds to make anything anyway, it isn't like waiting in the drive through is really an issue unless it's rush time I guess.
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I know it's pretty convenient at CFA in a mall. People on their breaks can place their order and when they get to the location they hit check in and CFA makes the mobile order first. No idea about drive thru.
 
DOWN

DOWN

Banned
Save McDonald's? They have fantastic profits. They've just dropped from the peak, but they are still the juggernaut.
 
B

BigDug13

Member
Save McDonalds from what? Having a slight compression in their business while still being the number one fast food restaurant?
 
Q

Qblivion

Member
Is mcdonald's ACTUALLY in danger or is this some Nintendo like doom and gloom about losing some money despite having billions in cash?
 
A

akira28

Member
MacDolands. here's some free advice. You've lost the buzz battle. There are Chipotles and Jack in the Boxes and while you once may have ruled with the elementary school set, your image is outdated.That's not going to be fixed with phone apps and breakfast gimmicks.

Literally everything is cooler than you are except maybe Krystal.
 
R

RevoDS

Junior Member
Qblivion said:
Is mcdonald's ACTUALLY in danger or is this some Nintendo like doom and gloom about losing some money despite having billions in cash?
Click to expand...

Sales are slowly but consistently falling, but the company still makes an ungodly amount of billions in profit every quarter.
 
S

Sanjuro

Member
akira28 said:
MacDolands. here's some free advice. You've lost the buzz battle. There are Chipotles and Jack in the Boxes and while you one may have ruled with the elementary school set, your image is outdated.That's not going to be fixed with phone apps and breakfast gimmicks.
Click to expand...

The only reason people go to Chipotle is to wait in a long line and watch people fail at trying to fold a burrito.
 
A

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I don't understand why the belief is that mobile has anything to do with falling sales instead the fact that there are tons of other, better options at a similar enough price point for many consumers. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the core customer is low-income families and that the big drop offs are in the more middle-class consumers who have a lot more options.
 
A

akira28

Member
BigDug13 said:
I guess Subway is fast food. Lack of drive through though. But ok. It being by far the cheapest to franchise probably helped.
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those bread ovens are high tech and..and super expensive1!

i think they're only there to generate that hot wet funk that exists in every Subway sandwich shop. No bread baking goes on, just humidity and old wrestling mats

Sanjuro said:
The only reason people go to Chipotle is to wait in a long line and watch people fail at trying to fold a burrito.
Click to expand...

but they're more willing to do that, than say, watch someone fail to make a BigMac, with lettuce exploding everywhere.
 
P

Pai Pai Master

Banned
I think bland fast food is dead if they can't convert the majority of their menu to a healthier option. And I don't think that's possible for McDonalds and to keep the volume of customers they want to retain.
 
U

Unknown Soldier

Member
Qblivion said:
Is mcdonald's ACTUALLY in danger or is this some Nintendo like doom and gloom about losing some money despite having billions in cash?
Click to expand...

McDonald's has been gradually losing marketshare in fast food for years but very recently the decline became very fast and very steep. The combination of 'better' fast food places serving different kinds of food such as Chipotle and Sonic, the rise of regional burger chains like In-N-Out Burger and Carls Jr and Five Guys and others, a steady amount of pressure from competitors with menus that have more variety like Wendy's and Jack in the Box, and also a decades long reputation for being kinda shit have all suddenly started dragging The Ronald down in a big way that hasn't been seen before.

One big problem that McD's has right now is that their food prices have been spiraling upwards for some time now and a lot of these 'better' fast food places are now within striking range of McD's prices and who the fuck is going to pick a Big Mac over Five Guys if the price difference is only a few bucks? Yeah, nobody, which is why McD's is suddenly in freefall.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
McDonald's had a good run.

They'll still be around, but they need to face that they're not the kings of the hill anymore. People change.
 
A

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Pai Pai Master said:
I think bland fast food is dead if they can't convert the majority of their menu to a healthier option. And I don't think that's possible for McDonalds and to keep the volume of customers they want to retain.
Click to expand...

I highly doubt sales losses have anything at all to do with healthy options. The public at large doesn't go to McDonalds for healthy food.
 
M

Madness

Member
I don't eat at McDonald because their food isn't as healthy or tasty as their competitors. Full stop. I'm not saying get rid of the classics like Big Mac and whatnot. But why would I eat at McDonald's, when there is a myriad of options now?

Hell just a while back, I had Chik Fil-A that opened in Washington. The price is comparable to McDonald's Crispy Chicken, and yet it's better chicken, tastes better, is prepared better.

I don't know how all day breakfast will change this? Remember, this is the nature of business. You can't be on top forever. Eventually something newer and better comes along. I still eat at McDonald's from time to time, but I limit it because I don't want to gain weight or eat crap. But I found if the choice is between McDonald's and cooking something at home, I'd rather spend the time making something at home. Maybe quality ingredients, less professed stuff, less preservatives, better cuts of chicken and beef. It doesn't matter if it's Angus if it's an amalgam of disgusting cheap cuts as opposed to prime rib, sirloin etc.

Plus why does McDonald's always need to keep growing? Maybe they hit their inevitable natural ceiling. Thousands of restaurants in every corner of the world.
 
G

GavinGT

Banned
Mobile apps and online ordering for fast food seems like such a dumb concept. I can order a Big Mac in person and it'll be ready in like 2 minutes.
 
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