Are tastes finally changing? Are people starting to realize that too much fast food isn’t good for you?
The executives at McDonald’s will have to grapple with that question as sales continue to falter. There was a problem in Asia that made things even worse, but in the US same store sales fell 2.8%. The trend is against McDonald’s and the stock is rightfully taking a hit.
Younger people seem to prefer chains like Chipotle that clearly offer better food. Meanwhile people are paying more attention to the quality of food they eat. That may not be as true for less affluent customers, but the middle class is certainly paying more attention.
How will McDonald’s respond? Some blame the bloated menu and the slow service. I have to admit that I prefer the days when a warmed-over burger was served immediately over a freshly made burger that takes way to long and doesn’t taste much better.
Will they try to offer more healthy alternatives? That hasn’t worked in the past, but perhaps fresh wheat bread buns might be a nice option for some customers over the lame buns they serve now.
We’ll see what happens, but I wouldn’t want to be in this stock at the moment.
