Page 74 - Entrepreneur - USA (January - February 2020)
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THE FRANCHISE
McDonald’s
3
STARTED FRANCHISING — — —
38,108 COST TO OPEN
$1.3M–$2.2M
1955 TOTAL UNITS
FROM THE REMOTE island of tem-wide store redesign nearly OG faced some challenges last quarters of growth. During his
Mauritius to the distant deserts complete, McDonald’s is now year. CEO Steve Easterbrook last earnings call in October,
of Kuwait, you can’t escape the uploading new tech to acceler- was fired over a consensual Easterbrook said he expected
Big Mac. The world is home to ate its race toward the future. relationship with an employee, McDonald’s recently added
more than 38,000 McDonald’s. In 2019, the company and despite a 5.9 percent delivery program to drive $4
So what’s left to conquer? acquired two companies that increase in global same-store billion in sales by the end of
Try Silicon Valley. Ronald signal its ambitions: Dynamic sales, third- quarter earnings 2019; McDonald’s is now filling
McDonald has landed in tech Yield, which builds digital fell short of expectations. (The 10 delivery orders every second.
land, not with burgers but with menu displays that tailor sug- company would not make It may be too early to assess
newly acquired technology that gestions to the time of day, an executive available for an the company’s tech gamble.
aims to disrupt the fast-food weather, and items already interview for this story.) That “But if it brings down the speed
world it helped build. in customers’ orders; and said, revenues spiked by $61.2 of service, it’s worth it,” says
McDonald’s has ranked Apprente, a voice-based AI million, and redesigned stores longtime restaurant analyst PHOTOGR APHS COURTESY OF MCDONALD’S
near the top of the Franchise company that will kick off the are seeing mid-single-digit Howard Penney at Hedgeye Risk
500 for the past three years, newly minted McD Tech Labs uplifts in sales. The good news Management. “McDonald’s is the
and much of the credit goes in Mountain View, Calif. has insulated the company first. They are leading the way.
to its push toward moderniza- But despite $21 billion in from the bad, and it’s cur- Nobody is doing what they are.”
tion. With its $10 billion sys- 2018 revenues, the fast-food rently riding on 17 consecutive —LIZ BRODY
72 / ENTREPRENEUR.COM / January-February 2020
