McDonald's says goodbye to Iceland, land of fire and ice (but not fries)
Filed under: Economy, McDonald's
On Tuesday, McDonald's (MCD) announced its plans to leave Iceland. This weekend, the global restaurant's three franchises, all located in Reykjavik, will close their doors, as the country's weak economy has made Big Mac's prohibitively expensive.McDonald's has only been in Iceland for a few years. The first golden arches arrived on the island in 1993, and then-Prime Minister David Oddsson ate the country's first Big Mac. Ironically, the Big Mac outlasted Oddsson by a few months; the Prime Minister later went on to become governor of the country's central bank, but was fired by Iceland's Parliament in February of this year.
Oddsson and the Big Mac fell victim to the same force: Iceland's economic meltdown, which reached crisis proportions in the fall of 2008, when the government had to take control of the country's three largest banks. Oddsson, the country's longest-serving prime minister, was once beloved for his economic policies, which energized the country's economy in the 1990s. However, as the country's involvement in the world economy soured, so did its relationship with Oddsson.
This isn't to say, however, that McDonald's is leaving Iceland bereft of fast food options. Lyst Hr, the owner of the franchise's three outlets, has decided to reopen them under the name "Metro." The new restaurants with feature a similar menu that uses locally-sourced ingredients. Given the country's heavy emphasis on fish, lamb, and unaged cheeses, it seems likely that a MetHaddock with yogurt may soon be on the menu.
In the meantime, as McDonalds faces the indigenous resentment and economic shortcomings of running America's most prominent worldwide face in the middle of an international recession, it seems likely that the Iceland departure may be a sad portent of things to come.



























Reader Comments (Page 1 of 12)
10-27-2009 @ 2:11PM
jbjg24m said...
$6.36 for a damn Big Mac ?
Reply
10-27-2009 @ 9:19PM
sieben13 said...
they should consider themselves lucky yo be rid of that garbage
10-28-2009 @ 5:03PM
SpiceMonkey said...
That's actually not too much more than they are in the U.S. What's with McD's prices the past six months?
10-28-2009 @ 8:25PM
enrique said...
yea, specially when now there more option. like this peruvian style chichen. you can get a quarter of chicken with french fries and soda dor 5.50. of course taste better and dont make you sick.
10-28-2009 @ 10:47PM
Wish Belkin said...
the country's weak economy has made Big Mac's prohibitively expensive.
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They need a welfare state, with government bailouts and Chinese money. Then they all could get heart desease affordably.
10-27-2009 @ 2:21PM
WebChick said...
Gee I was hoping they were shutting their doors period.
Reply
10-27-2009 @ 2:39PM
g said...
As far as I'm concerned, they can close all the McDonald's, Burger King's, Wendy's, Kentuckey fried's, Arby's, all the Papa' John's, Dominoe's, Taco Bell's, all the Chinese take outs. The fast food chains have contributed to the Obesity, and all kinds of health problems with our young people especially in the inner cities. I live in East Harlem, New York City. On one block alone, there is 4 chain resturants. Enough!!
10-27-2009 @ 4:18PM
Sal said...
I know me, too
10-27-2009 @ 10:02PM
Grant06 said...
Why do you want them to close? If you don't like their food, don't eat there.They employee over 1.5 million folks worldwide. I assume you want to pay their unemployment?
10-27-2009 @ 5:44PM
Kelly said...
I was hoping it was the U.S. they were leaving. Their food is such crap!
10-27-2009 @ 6:01PM
mike r said...
If you don't like McDonalds don't go there . There are a lot of young people earning some spending money there and some people actually do enjoy eating there. Just because "holier than thou " (you) don't like it , shut it down. What a heinnie.
10-28-2009 @ 5:16PM
dtenore said...
McDonald's et al are to blame for the obesity?
Silly me... I thought obesity had everything to do with eating too much and/or not getting enough exercise!
You must be right: blame the FOOD, and not the person who eats too much... yeah, that's the ticket
10-28-2009 @ 5:43PM
the Chief said...
Burgers don't kill people, people kill themselves...
Sometimes with burgers, sometimes with cigarettes, some even use cars!
Look, a food addict is going to get he/she/it's fix. Close Mickey D's and it's competition and they'll just go buy polish sausages by the truckload.
I like the occasional Big Mac and Whopper and foot long sub, but I usually eat at home. It's my choice, and your's.
10-29-2009 @ 1:35AM
Ed said...
Well I wouldn't close down all of the fast food restaurants and fast food chinese places to stave off obesity. Obesity isn't caused by fast food. Besides fast food places employ lots of people worldwide; that would be huge unemployment. Also not everyone can afford to pay out $20 at a regular restaurant when the economy is bad. There is a reason that Burger King sells so many $1 double cheeseburgers and $1 whopper, jrs. They are affordable for those that are lower income. Also, some fast food isn't that unhealthy. Think before you say "fast food causes obesity."
10-27-2009 @ 3:05PM
Gobi said...
Since when is a "few" ...16 years? The writer lost me at that point.
"McDonald's has only been in Iceland for a few years. The first golden arches arrived on the island in 1993..."
Reply
10-28-2009 @ 8:34PM
SJ said...
that's exactly what I noticed...whatthehell???
10-28-2009 @ 11:56PM
dagrrl said...
Compared to here that would be a few years, maybe? As for prices, regular restaurants are getting to be cheaper than fast food places. As for them closing... That's ridiculous. Nobody makes anyone eat there... Blame who is really at fault and that's NOT the restaurants.
10-27-2009 @ 2:38PM
Rose said...
When will America shut all theirs down? After obesity reaches 100%?????
Reply
10-27-2009 @ 3:06PM
Spencer said...
Heck no, that's when we'll need them the most! You see, they left iceland because the people couldn't afford to eat them, here they're cheap and Americans love to stuff their faces with cheap low grade food products.
10-27-2009 @ 3:50PM
Kathy said...
When will people stop walking into them? Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to walk in and buy food. Sheesh. Personal responsibility is always a good thing. It is *not* McDonald's fault people are fat. When people start noticing they need to buy bigger sizes, I'd think that would be a real good time to "notice" what they're shoving in they're mouths. But noooooo. They BLAME McDonalds. And they'll SUE McDonalds when they're too big to fit in the car to go through the Drive-Thru and when they cannot fit in the booths.