otions for food items with Disney movies. They also continue the successful Beanie Baby promotion that is credited as the company’s most successful promotion ever. On October 25 they introduced the American Trio Collection of Beanie Babies that celebrate the American Political Process. In addition to promotion, McDonald’s has also been successful at placing restaurants in every available position. The increase of outlets per year has remained at 5% for the last two decades despite a falling increase in sales. In 1988 they had 10,167 restaurants, of which 7,567 were located in the United States. Throughout the 1990’s they have increased that number to 28,454 restaurants in about 120 countries. The table below gives the number of restaurants and sales per geographic region as of September 2000:McDonald’s Locations and SalesLocation# RestaurantsSales (in millions)United States12,703$5,051.4Asia/Pacific5,9891,820.2Europe5,2432,449.9Latin America1,983456.2Other Regions2,536734.7 Total28,45410,512.4 By expanding quickly into international markets, McDonald’s was able to arrive before competition and secure a plan for future growth opportunities. They recognized that the fast food industry was becoming diluted and began expansion into international markets before any one else. Being first in the international markets makes them first in the minds of international consumers. This is obviously important now that increasing sales are falling in the United States. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jack M. Greenberg said of their expansions, “Moving forward, we will pursue additional growth by intensifying our focus on building sales at existing restaurants.” Along with expanding internationally, McDonald’s is moving into other brands of food and restaurants. They’ve acquired Chipotle Mexican Grill, Aroma Ltd., a coffee shop chain in the UK, Donatos Pizza, and Inter...
