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McDonalds

Fast-food chains may need to offer more value meals to lure customers

by Savannah Maher
May 13, 2024
McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut have reported soft sales as customers reject inflated prices. That means franchises have to get creative.
Fast-food restaurants hope that meal deals will bring back patrons who feel that eating out has become too expensive.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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The days of free refills may be over

by Janet Nguyen
May 13, 2024
McDonald’s announced that it would phase out its self-service machines by the end of 2032. More restaurants may follow suit.
Self-serve refill machines will be phased out at McDonald's by 2032.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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How expensive fast food can explain rising economic equality

by Kai Ryssdal and Sarah Leeson
Jan 17, 2024
Fast food workers' wages are up as much as 30% since 2020. That has had real costs for businesses, but real benefits for society.
In the fast food sector, where many workers in the bottom 10% of the income distribution are employed, wages went up by 5.7% when adjusted for inflation between 2020 and 2022, says Eric Levitz of Vox.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Can McDonald's latest venture satisfy consumers' thirst for specialty beverages?

by Kristin Schwab
Dec 20, 2023
The chain's new cafe concept, CosMc's, wants a sip of Starbucks' or Dunkin' Donuts' market share.
McDonald's recently launched CosMc's to compete with drink purveyors like Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
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On McDonald's Investor Day, more data on how its small format restaurants are doing

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Dec 6, 2023
With changing patterns of dining, how are small format restaurants, like McDonald's CosMc, shaping up?
CosMc, a new concept restaurant by McDonald's, is based on a McDonald's character of the same name from outer space.
Shammi Mehra/AFP via Getty Images
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Franchises are big business, but they're adjusting to economic headwinds

by Matt Levin
Sep 22, 2023
Franchisees get help with marketing and branding, but the corporate parent can’t do much about high interest rates and labor costs.
McDonald's royalty fees will rise from 4% to 5% for some franchisees, according to a company email viewed by Marketplace.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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For Russians, McDonald's was once a symbol of modernity. Its closing feels like a step backward.

by Kristin Schwab
Mar 23, 2022
When the golden arches opened, Russians marveled at how it differed from local restaurants: friendly service and plastic packaging.
When McDonald's opened in Moscow in 1990, Russians looked at it as "a window to a different world," says Konstantin Sonin, a University of Chicago professor who grew up in Russia. Above, the Pushkin Square restaurant.
AFP via Getty Images
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For global brands, pulling out of Russia isn't a yes-or-no question

by Kristin Schwab
Mar 8, 2022
Logistics, business models and a fear of Russians' reactions are all factors.
The Kremlin's towers are reflected in the window of a McDonald's restaurant in Moscow. The chain said Tuesday that it would temporarily close its Russian locations.
Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

As office workers mostly work from home, coffee and breakfast chains scramble to boost sales

by Kristin Schwab
Nov 5, 2020
The change in your morning routine is impacting the grab-and-go breakfast business.
Fast-food chains were investing more heavily in breakfast foods before the pandemic started.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
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Race and Economy

Black former McDonald's franchisees are suing over discrimination accusations

by Nancy Marshall-Genzer
Sep 1, 2020
The plaintiffs are seeking up to $1 billion in damages.
Alastair Pike/AFP via Getty Images
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