The McRib is back on the McDonald's menu, and the popular sandwich is returning to the Golden Arches at just the right time. October was a bad month for the fast food giant, and it needs all the pork-fueled help it can get to beef up sales.
McDonald's franchisees have spoken. They're fine with the world's largest restaurant chain beefing up its Dollar Menu in an effort to reverse a recent sales decline. What they aren't cool with is breaking the buck with even lower-priced offerings.
McDonald's in October suffered its first monthly decline in comparable-store sales since 2003 -- and October is usually a good month for the burger giant. So what did Ronald do wrong? Too much focus on premium menu items, too little on what its customers really want: Low cost eats.
McDonald's is showing signs of tarnish on the Golden Arches. Goldman Sachs downgraded its shares due to a slowdown in growth. And with challenges overseas and resurgent competition everywhere, things are unlikely to turn around anytime soon for the world's largest restaurant chain.
The most popular Western-style, fast-food company in China right now is Yum! Brands, which operates Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC. In fact, Yum!'s operations in China dwarf McDonald's -- and looks like it'll repeat the feat in India too.
