markets. This is becoming more important now that competitors like Burger King and Wendy’s are beginning to expand overseas. For example, Burger King has restaurants in 57 other countries. McDonalds needs to continue to be first in international markets so that they remain first in the minds of international consumers. Although they need to continue this expansion, they need to focus on more developed countries that have a better ability and need to buy their products. This will help them against fighting weak foreign currencies and ethnicity problems. One entry method that could be used would be joint ventures with already existing foreign restaurants. This will help them better incorporate their product message with cultural and ethnic trends. Another recommendation for expansion is to establish product and brand awareness in other brands. This includes their recent acquisitions of Chipotle, Donatos Pizza, and Boston Market. These restaurants have the ability to be expanded throughout the United States and provide a large amount of sales domestically. This will be growingly important as sales in current McDonald’s restaurants flatten. These restaurant chains may also have the ability to be expanded internationally depending on their success in the U.S. An opportunity that McDonald’s has not been taking advantage of is their environmental concerns. Recently McDonald’s was honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for their conservation and recycling efforts. The EPA cited McDonald’s as the industry leader because of its continual review and evaluation of packaging materials. This is something that could be used in a promotional effort to better their image in consumers’ minds. It could be positioned directly against competitors to show that McDonald’s does care about the environment. McDonald’s has done well with establishing a plan for future growth a...
