McDonald's Drops Signature-Crafted Burgers -- Update
April 18 2019 - 10:32PM
Dow Jones News
By Micah Maidenberg
McDonald's Corp. is taking "signature crafted" hamburgers off
its menu, after the sandwiches slowed operations at the chain's
restaurants.
The burger giant said it was discontinuing the customizable
sandwiches to refocus on its standard quarter-pounder burgers. The
shift comes as McDonald's struggles to attract customers in the
U.S.
Comparable guest counts, a measurement of transactions at
restaurants open for at least 13 months, dropped 2.2% last year in
the domestic market. The company has raised prices and leaned on
higher-priced, limited-time offers to bolster sales in the U.S.
McDonald's introduced the signature burger line in 2017,
offering sandwiches topped with items like guacamole, sweet bacon
or Dijon mustard. Executives at the time said they thought
customers would appreciate a better burger. A year later the
company added fresh-beef patties for its signature and
quarter-pounder burgers. McDonald's has seen weaker traffic at its
restaurants as other burger chains such as Five Guys and Shake
Shack Inc. have gained market share.
But the customizable burgers made McDonald's kitchens more
complex, as did the introduction of all-day breakfast in 2015. That
has lengthened wait times at the chain's drive-through windows.
"Some of the complexity that we've added into the business has
now created a little bit slower drive-through times," McDonald's
finance chief Kevin Ozan said last month, referring to the
signature burgers and other changes.
McDonald's is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings on
April 30. Comparable sales, or sales at restaurants open for at
least 13 months, are expected to rise 3.4% around the globe,
according to FactSet.
Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 18, 2019 22:17 ET (02:17 GMT)
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