Joseph Ragsdale
Arianna Rodriguez
Lisa Rodriguez
Marion Wolak
McDonald’s Case Study
Strengths
Largest Food service business in the world, 34,000 local restaurants serving nearly 69 million people in 118 countries, a $40 Billion dollar brand worldwide,
Universally recognized brand name with a large advertising budget
Partners with other high value brands Dannon Yogurt, Kraft Cheese, Nestle Chocolate, Dasani Water, Newman's Own Salad Dressings, Heinz Ketchup, Minute Maid Juice
The majority of the retail locations are owned by independent franchisees, The company is able to grow while minimizing large capital expenditure
Recession Proof - Low price menu items allow McDonald’s to survive when the economy is low as there are few economic situations where most consumers cannot afford McDonald’s.
Massive buying power- 34,000 locations allows McDonald’s to control pricing on its core menu items
Highly trained management staff well versed in Customer service skills (hamburger University)
Positive company social-image (Ronald McDonald House)
Impressive core competencies in franchising and logistics
Target market is children and teens
Weaknesses
Fast Food is viewed by many as poor quality and unhealthy, often associated with “cheap and greasy,” especially the baby boomers who built the brand in the 50’s and 60’s less than 6% of the over 100 item entrée menu is less than 200 calories more than half the entrees are high in sodium
Large size of the business makes growth more difficult to achieve
Commodity costs can quickly erode profit margins
Low differentiation with other similar fast food companies such as Burger King, Wendy’s
High Employee turnover at the local level
Market saturation
Negative publicity, such as the movie Super-Size Me.
Opportunities
Adapting to fit the changing lifestyle of the largest population sector by adding healthier food options
Fast food will never be completely viewed as healthy but efforts in this direction could aid in customer