 |
| Diners eat lunch
under plasma television screens on the balcony of the
McDonald's new flagship restaurant Wednesday, June 8, 2005 in
Oak Brook, Ill. The restaurant offers a variety of high-tech
amenities as well as new menu choices that McDonald's hopes
will attract more patrons and entice them to come in and stay
awhile. (AP) | |
Just outside its wooded headquarters campus, McDonald's Corp. is
offering sneak previews of its fast-food future.
Now playing at its new flagship restaurant: Digital-media
kiosks for burning CDs, downloading cell-phone ring tones and printing
photos. Dozens of plasma-screen TVs. Wi-Fi Internet
access. New chicken sandwiches. Double-lane drivethrus. And an adjoining
McCafe with gourmet coffees, fancy pastries and a fireplace.
Coming soon: Other menu items and concepts not yet released to a
general audience.
Don't expect Starbucks-like makeovers like this one at the
13,600 U.S. McDonald's, or 30,000-plus worldwide; the Oak Brook
restaurant, which opened late last month, doubles as public restaurant and
test site. But the world's largest restaurant chain is tinkering with
various possibilities in technology and design to try to ensure it is a
hangout of choice in the
future.
"It's unlikely you'll see this exact restaurant replicated," McDonald's
spokesman Bill Whitman said. "But you will see elements of this restaurant
in some of our new construction. It's all about keeping our restaurants
more relevant for our customers."
McDonald's has undergone an image change in more ways than one since a
time 2 1/2 years ago when its sales and reputation were sagging amid
complaints about its service and food. Despite inconsistent results in
some large European countries, that McSlump is no longer: Same-store sales
have increased for 25 straight months in the key U.S. market.
The company reported first-quarter operating income was up 6 percent to
$910 million and revenue rose 9 percent to $4.8 billion over the same time
last year. Its stock price nearly tripled over a two-year period, hitting
a four-year high of $34.56 per share in March, but has since settled
around $29.
Snazzier new restaurants
are part of the makeover; about 1,000, mostly older U.S. McDonald's have
been either renovated or rebuilt since 2002. Contributing more to the
sales resurgence, though, have been longer hours, accepting credit and
debit cards, the high-powered "I'm lovin' it" marketing campaign and
pricier new food items.
Some of the additions, such as salads, white-meat chicken nuggets and
fruit options with Happy Meals, have served the dual purpose of enabling
the company to state a commitment to a healthier, balanced menu while
bringing in new customers who aren't there for the hamburgers.
McDonald's now hopes to attract more patrons with amenities that might
entice them to come in and stay awhile.
Analyst Peter Jankovskis thinks the extra investments to try to make
McDonald's restaurants hangouts are worthwhile, noting that they have
worked not only at Starbucks but at Panera Bread and other chains.
"It used to be that a chance to eat burgers and fries with your friends
was enough," said Jankovskis, director of research at Oakbrook Investments
in nearby Lisle, which owns a million shares of McDonald's stock. "Now it
takes a little bit more than that."
(Agencies) |
透过麦当劳总部实验基地茂密的树木望去，人们依稀可以窥见这个快餐巨头未来的发展前景。
麦当劳新建的旗舰店提供了很多娱乐设施。在店里，人们可以在数字媒体室刻录CD，下载手机铃声，打印图片。店里还设有多台等离子电视、Wi-Fi无线网络接口，当然也少不了新式的鸡肉三明治。这家旗舰店还建有双车道的汽车外卖窗口。毗邻的就是一家麦当劳咖啡厅，提供上等咖啡和可口糕点，里面还设有壁炉。
即将推出的还有其他许多菜点和尚未对大众公布的新概念。
别指望麦当劳会像星巴克那样，把它在美国的13600家店或者其遍布世界各地的三万多家分店都翻修成这样。上月末刚开张的橡树溪饭店就扮演了大众餐馆和试验基地的双重角色。不过，这个世界上最大的快餐连锁店也在其技术和设计上融入了多种的元素，试图使其成为未来人们休闲娱乐的首选之地。
“你不可能在其他地方看到与这一模一样的餐馆，”麦当劳发言人比尔·惠特曼说。“但是，你可能会在我们的其他一些新建餐馆身上发现这个餐馆的某些元素。我们之所以这样做，就是为了使我们的餐馆更符合顾客的习惯和需要。”
然而，仅仅在两年半前，人们还对麦当劳的服务和食品怨声载道，导致其销售额大幅下滑，良好声誉受到损害。之后，麦当劳开始采取各种措施以重塑公司形象。尽管这项措施在一些欧洲大国反映不一，但是，麦当劳的销售额并没有出现大的下滑。在关键的美国市场，有一些店的销售额已经连续25个月保持增长态势。
据麦当劳公布的2005年第一季度财务报告显示，其第一季度营业利润比去年同期增长了6%，达到9.1亿美元；总收入增长9%，达到48亿美元。在两年的时间里，其股价几乎翻了3倍，在3月份涨至每股34.56美元，为四年来的新高。但是，自那之后，股价就一直稳定在每股29美元左右。
建造更为新潮的餐馆只不过是麦当劳革新计划的一部分。自2002年以来，麦当劳已经对其旗下的大约1000家餐馆进行了翻修或者推倒重建，其中大部分是位于美国的老式餐馆。但是，麦当劳销售额的上升也有赖于其他因素，如延长营业时间，接受信用卡和借记卡，展开声势浩大的“我就喜欢”主题营销活动以及推出更为昂贵的新食品。
麦当劳也提供其他食品供顾客选择，如沙拉、白肉鸡块及可加水果的“欢乐餐”等。一方面，这些措施使麦当劳可以声称其履行了为顾客提供更为健康均衡的食谱的承诺，另一方面也吸引了那些不喜欢吃汉堡的新顾客。
现在麦当劳希望利用娱乐设施吸引更多的顾客，让他们在店里逗留片刻。
分析家彼得·扬科夫斯基认为，麦当劳投入巨资，以期将其餐馆变为人们休闲娱乐之地，这是值得的。他特别强调，星巴克和帕尼拉面包等连锁店已经证明这是一个行之有效的方法。
“过去，和朋友在一起吃点汉堡和薯条就可以了。现在的选择可比那时要多一些。”扬科夫斯基说。他是位于附近里斯耳的欧科布鲁克投资有限公司研究部主管，目前持有麦当劳100万股股票。
（中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2005-06-17 10:17