Strategic Management Mcdonald's in China
Introduction
McDonald’s, the US-based food-chain is a well-known company around the world and is growing and growing. The first McDonald’s restaurant in Europe was in The Netherlands in 1971, nowadays almost 230 restaurants exist among the country. Almost 20 years later, in 1990 the first McDonald’s restaurant opened in Shenzhen, China. After the home base country the USA, China is the second biggest market for the food-chain with over 960 restaurants, this number is steadily expanding. The company’s vision is ‘to be the best and leading fast food providers around the world’. Through this vision their mission is; ‘to be the world’s best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanness, and value so, that we make every customer in every restaurant smile.’ How is it possible to be successful all over the world with the same concept? What kind of strategic management is McDonald’s using in China? How the company able to compete in the fast-food market? What challenges did McDonald’s faced by expanding their business in a different culture country?
Strategy in China
As GDP is growing steadily with around 10 percent in China, McDonald’s decided to expand their business to China. As part of their global expansion program the company found out that McDonald’s had a big potential in the Chinese market. Main reasons for this statement are the growth in the urban population, a change in spending habits of consumers and probably one of the most important reasons; the growing influence of western brands. The success of the first McDonald’s in Shenzhen made the company’s desire to expand in China increasing.
McDonald’s applied almost the same operational strategy they used to work with in the US for their China restaurants. This means standardized operations to ensure the quality of the cuisine at all its restaurants in China. The well-known ‘dollar menu ‘which is a great success in the US is converted to the ‘value
McDonald’s, the US-based food-chain is a well-known company around the world and is growing and growing. The first McDonald’s restaurant in Europe was in The Netherlands in 1971, nowadays almost 230 restaurants exist among the country. Almost 20 years later, in 1990 the first McDonald’s restaurant opened in Shenzhen, China. After the home base country the USA, China is the second biggest market for the food-chain with over 960 restaurants, this number is steadily expanding. The company’s vision is ‘to be the best and leading fast food providers around the world’. Through this vision their mission is; ‘to be the world’s best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanness, and value so, that we make every customer in every restaurant smile.’ How is it possible to be successful all over the world with the same concept? What kind of strategic management is McDonald’s using in China? How the company able to compete in the fast-food market? What challenges did McDonald’s faced by expanding their business in a different culture country?
Strategy in China
As GDP is growing steadily with around 10 percent in China, McDonald’s decided to expand their business to China. As part of their global expansion program the company found out that McDonald’s had a big potential in the Chinese market. Main reasons for this statement are the growth in the urban population, a change in spending habits of consumers and probably one of the most important reasons; the growing influence of western brands. The success of the first McDonald’s in Shenzhen made the company’s desire to expand in China increasing.
McDonald’s applied almost the same operational strategy they used to work with in the US for their China restaurants. This means standardized operations to ensure the quality of the cuisine at all its restaurants in China. The well-known ‘dollar menu ‘which is a great success in the US is converted to the ‘value
References: Crafting aand Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage, Concepts and Cases (A Thompson, A.J. Strickland, John E. Gamble 2007) McDonald’s China Strategy 2001-2012 22 april 2012 http://articles.latimes.com/2007/sep/17/business/ft-mcdon17