Log in to your IBTimes Account

close
ID
Password

The fast-food chain is experimenting - profitably - to create a more restaurant-like, eating experience.

McDonald's European Makeover



By Rajiv Sekhri
30 June 2007 @ 12:09 am EST

WOLFRATSHAUSEN, Germany - In this German hamlet 15 miles south of Munich, McDonald's Corp. is conducting an experiment that counters the fast-food, drive-through image of the world's biggest restaurant company.

The McDonald's restaurant here has a fireplace, leather sofas, wooden floors, vases with plastic flowers and a McCafe, where it serves pastry, tiramisu and cappuccino on china.

The eatery is what the company calls one of its best examples of weaving together ambience, convenience and food. The experiment is part of McDonald's Europe's strategy to create a more restaurant-like, sit-down eating experience.

Sales at the two-story restaurant, where the makeover was finished 18 months ago under a design called Venge, have grown 22 percent.

Michael Heinritzi, who owns and operates 30 McDonald's franchises in southern Germany including this one, says his customers enjoy the restaurant more and that clients now include businessmen who drop by in the morning for a coffee.

Before the remake, mothers would drop off children for a birthday party and pick them up later. Now they stay and enjoy a latte and a piece of cake, he said.

McDonald's has remade 2,000 of its 6,400 eateries across Europe, which is the parent's second-biggest market outside North America. Six hundred more such makeovers are planned a year under 10 designs with names such as Urban, Qualite and Less Is More.

"Reimaging," said Denis Hennequin, president of McDonald's Europe, "is important in the fast-moving, competitive world of retail."

A FRENCHMAN'S IDEA

The new restaurants are boosting profits in Europe, where the company's operating income grew 38 percent in the first quarter of 2007 and sales climbed 9 percent.

Copyright 2008 Reuters. All rights reserved.

    Click!
  • Rate this article:

Comments

Post Your Comment

You must be an IBTimes member to post a comment. Login | Register


advertisement
More Industries
Dying of cancer, Thomas Amschwand did everything he was told to make sure his wife would collect on the life insurance policy he had through his employer...
The government on Saturday increased the number of people reported being sickened in a record salmonella outbreak in which tomatoes are the leading suspe...
Surging fuel and raw material prices are putting earnings at risk

Advertisement
Latest Investing Research Reports

Find the most up to date research from leading investment firms to make the most informed investing decisions

Corporate Website Design

Professional Website Design For Corporate - Get a Free Quote Today

advertisement
 
IBTimes.com Web
Partners
International Business Times© 2008 The Ibtimes Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms of service | Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us | Contact Us | Archives