Business Spotlight: McDonald’s Part 1

The pandemic has seen the rise of food delivery services like Demae-Can, which lets restaurants try their hand at “fast food.” Yet what would this business model be without the original outlets that shaped our tastes in fast-food establishments? In particular, let’s look at the most successful chain of them all, McDonald’s. In 1948, brothers Maurice and Richard McDonald opened McDonald’s Bar-B-Que in San Bernardino, California. Initially a barbecue joint, it soon switched its focus to hamburgers and shortened its name to McDonald’s. By 1952, it had gone full “fast food,” spreading out its seating and turning down its heating to encourage customer movement. That same year, it established the famous “golden arches” logo and its first franchise. McDonald’s success caught the eye of salesman Ray Kroc, who helped establish franchises on the East Coast and founded the McDonald’s Corporation in 1955. He also implemented the Sonneborn Model of ownership, in which McDonald’s owns the lands that franchises are built on. In 1961, Kroc bought out the McDonald’s brothers. He improved the McDonald’s brand through advertising, introducing mascot Ronald McDonald in 1963. (Jasmin Hayward) To be continued… This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.