Two kinds of news from China and US about McDonald's

[This one is from New York Times]


McDonald’s Scales Back Prices in China

HONG KONG — When McDonald’s sharply lowers the price of the Filet-O-Fish sandwich and double cheeseburger in China, one thing is clear: the global slowdown has truly arrived in the once-sizzling Asian economy.

McDonald’s announced Thursday that residents of China, the world’s most populous nation, would now be able to feast on four new combo McDonald’s meals — the other two feature a chicken filet sandwich and a pork burger — for 16.50 yuan, or $2.41, a cut of up to one-third from the former price.

The promotion, McDonald’s said, is “in line with the government’s direction to stimulate domestic demand” and “help build a stronger economy.” As the economy slows, “we can do our part by helping stimulate domestic demand in the restaurant sector,” said Jeff Schwartz, chief executive of McDonald’s China.

McDonald’s is not the only food retailer to have lowered prices in China Others, like KFC, also have started promotions as consumers in China begin to fret about slowing growth and rising unemployment. But the price reduction by one of the world’s best-known companies highlights how the downturn that began in the United States has changed shopping and selling patterns as far away as China.

Just a year ago, the prices of staples like pork, rice and cooking oil were soaring, lifting inflation and threatening to overheat the Chinese economy, which had recorded double-digit growth for half a decade. Now, with growth slowing to 9 percent in 2008, and expected to be even lower this year, the pressure is on for retailers to entice shoppers with special deals.

Standard and Poor’s, the ratings agency, said on Thursday that it expected China to grow about 6.5 to 7 percent this year and to pick up steam slightly next year, with a pace of 7.8 to 8.3 percent in 2010. And S.& P.’s chief economist for the Asia Pacific region, Subir Gokarn, said he expected consumer price inflation to slow to 1.7 to 2.2 percent this year, from 5.9 percent in 2008.

Still, China remains attractive because of the size of the market and growth rates that are still ahead of those in most of the rest of the world. McDonald’s is planning to expand in China, which is now one of its fastest-growing markets.

McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in China in the southern city of Shenzhen in 1990. Since then, the number of outlets has mushroomed to 1,050, staffed by more than 60,000 employees. Another 175 restaurants are planned for this year.

McDonald’s has been a rare beneficiary of the global downturn, as shoppers around the world switch to lower-priced goods. Last week, the company reported that sales had continued to climb during the last three months of 2008, when nearly every other industry reported a sharp downturn.

[This is from Jing Hua Times]


两大洋快餐在国内的竞争可谓如火如荼，肯德基去年底推出的“结伴过冬”5款特惠套餐活动2月3日一结束，昨天，麦当劳立即宣布，从2月4日开始“将以前所未有的优惠幅度在全国餐厅重磅推出16.5元‘天天超值套餐’，该系列套餐的价格优惠高达32.6%”。

价格比10年前还低

“这个价格比10年前的价格还低”，麦当劳中国副总裁、北区总经理缪钦表示，10年前该系列套餐价格为16.8元。据介绍，此次麦当劳推出的16.5元4款“天天超值套餐”包括：搭配中号薯条或玉米(1588,-3.00,-0.19%,吧)杯及可乐或零度可乐饮料的麦香鱼套餐、双层吉士汉堡套餐、麦辣鸡腿堡套餐及麻辣猪堡包套餐。“每天上午10点起全天供应，活动为期5周”，缪钦介绍，根据运营情况，5周后再决定是否持续下去。

“其实企业非常憎恨产品提价的”，针对去年3次提价，缪钦昨天表示，自1998年至2008年的10年间，麦当劳的累计产品价格涨幅仅为11%，大大低于同期国内累计消费价格指数(CPI)20%的涨幅。

对于老对手的大幅降价，肯德基昨天晚间回应称，肯德基对价格调整非常谨慎，将随时关注经济形势、成本走向和消费者需求，适时采取相应措施。

今年中国增开175家店

“麦当劳计划2009年在中国内地增开175家新店，招聘超过10000名员工”。缪钦透露，这在公司今年全球扩张计划中，中国是开店最多的市场。175家新店北区、南区、中区将各占三分之一。同时，公司将大力发展24小时营业、得来速餐厅、甜品站和麦乐送等增值服务。

据介绍，目前北区的24小时餐厅已经达到了85%以上。

While this news is also about the lower price of McDonald's In China in Febrary. It also said how the price change and how much it had changed.

For these two news, they all talked about the current price and the change of some certain food such as double cheese hamberger, what's more, both said KFC's promotion and Mc's expanding in China, which plan to open 195 more new Mc in 2009 and lots of staffs. But the first news said why the price got low while the other didn't. Also the second one annouced that some new activities would be held for promotion, by contrast, the first one did not mention that.