 |
| 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) |
透過麥當勞總部實驗基地茂密的樹木望去，人們依稀可以窺見這個快餐巨頭未來的發展前景。
麥當勞新建的旗艦店提供了很多娛樂設施。在店里，人們可以在數字媒體室刻錄CD，下載手機鈴聲，打印圖片。店里還設有多臺等離子電視、Wi-Fi無線網絡接口，當然也少不了新式的雞肉三明治。這家旗艦店還建有雙車道的汽車外賣窗口。毗鄰的就是一家麥當勞咖啡廳，提供上等咖啡和可口糕點，里面還設有壁爐。
即將推出的還有其他許多菜點和尚未對大眾公布的新概念。
別指望麥當勞會像星巴克那樣，把它在美國的13600家店或者其遍布世界各地的三萬多家分店都翻修成這樣。上月末剛開張的橡樹溪飯店就扮演了大眾餐館和試驗基地的雙重角色。不過，這個世界上最大的快餐連鎖店也在其技術和設計上融入了多種的元素，試圖使其成為未來人們休閑娛樂的首選之地。
“你不可能在其他地方看到與這一模一樣的餐館，”麥當勞發言人比爾·惠特曼說。“但是，你可能會在我們的其他一些新建餐館身上發現這個餐館的某些元素。我們之所以這樣做，就是為了使我們的餐館更符合顧客的習慣和需要?！?
然而，僅僅在兩年半前，人們還對麥當勞的服務和食品怨聲載道，導致其銷售額大幅下滑，良好聲譽受到損害。之后，麥當勞開始采取各種措施以重塑公司形象。盡管這項措施在一些歐洲大國反映不一，但是，麥當勞的銷售額并沒有出現大的下滑。在關鍵的美國市場，有一些店的銷售額已經連續25個月保持增長態勢。
據麥當勞公布的2005年第一季度財務報告顯示，其第一季度營業利潤比去年同期增長了6%，達到9.1億美元；總收入增長9%，達到48億美元。在兩年的時間里，其股價幾乎翻了3倍，在3月份漲至每股34.56美元，為四年來的新高。但是，自那之后，股價就一直穩定在每股29美元左右。
建造更為新潮的餐館只不過是麥當勞革新計劃的一部分。自2002年以來，麥當勞已經對其旗下的大約1000家餐館進行了翻修或者推倒重建，其中大部分是位于美國的老式餐館。但是，麥當勞銷售額的上升也有賴于其他因素，如延長營業時間，接受信用卡和借記卡，展開聲勢浩大的“我就喜歡”主題營銷活動以及推出更為昂貴的新食品。
麥當勞也提供其他食品供顧客選擇，如沙拉、白肉雞塊及可加水果的“歡樂餐”等。一方面，這些措施使麥當勞可以聲稱其履行了為顧客提供更為健康均衡的食譜的承諾，另一方面也吸引了那些不喜歡吃漢堡的新顧客。
現在麥當勞希望利用娛樂設施吸引更多的顧客，讓他們在店里逗留片刻。
分析家彼得·揚科夫斯基認為，麥當勞投入巨資，以期將其餐館變為人們休閑娛樂之地，這是值得的。他特別強調，星巴克和帕尼拉面包等連鎖店已經證明這是一個行之有效的方法。
“過去，和朋友在一起吃點漢堡和薯條就可以了?，F在的選擇可比那時要多一些?！睋P科夫斯基說。他是位于附近里斯耳的歐科布魯克投資有限公司研究部主管，目前持有麥當勞100萬股股票。
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2005-06-17 10:17