McDonald's: No Longer the Great American Meal
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Case Details:
Case Code : BSTR044
Case Length : 17 Pages
Period : 1965
Organization : McDonalds
Pub Date : 2003
Teaching Note :Not Available Countries : USA
Industry : Food Retailing
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This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.
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Background Note
The McDonald brothers, Richard and Maurice, started their career in Hollywood, working on movie sets. Not finding this career rewarding, they began to look for new business opportunities and decided to set up a restaurant.
The two brothers opened a drive-in restaurant in a little known town called San Bernardino, California, in 1937. Drive-ins were a relatively new concept at that time. To improve the restaurant business, the brothers invented a revolutionary new concept called "self-service." They did away with the carhops (waiters who served the customers) and reduced their menu from 25 items to just 9: hamburger, cheeseburger, three soft-drink flavors, milk, coffee, potato chips and pie. French-fries and milkshakes were later added to the list. The brothers designed their kitchen for mass production, with assembly line procedures. The restaurant was octagonal, a deviation from the normal practice. The prices were kept low - 15 cents for a burger, and 10 cents for fries.
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The critical success factors in the business were speed, service and cleanliness. The new concept of self-service soon caught the imagination of the American public.
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By the mid-1950s, the restaurant's revenues had risen to $350,000. As word of their success spread, franchisees started showing interest. The first franchisee was Neil Fox, a gasoline retailer, who set up his drive-in in Phoenix, Arizona in 1952. His restaurant was located in a gleaming red and white tiled rectangular building. Like the original restaurant, glass construction was used from counter to the roof, and the kitchen was exposed to the customer's view. The most distinctive feature of the building was its two bright yellow arches, which later evolved into a new symbol for McDonald's. (Refer Figure I) The franchising system, however, failed mainly because of two reasons. The McDonald brothers observed very transparent business practices... |
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