McDonald’s again stressed on Wednesday that locally influenced and simplified menus will be key changes arriving in its stores, while saying a number of items will be going away in weeks as the world’s largest publicly traded restaurant chain attempts to reinvent itself.
During a two-hour investor call centered largely on domestic operations, CEO Don Thompson and U.S. president Mike Andres dealt with themes McDonald’s has discussed for some time, those being a menu that makes sense in terms of regional preferences and one that’s quicker to grasp for patrons, while incorporating new levels of customization with a plan called “Create Your Taste.” The idea is to get guest counts, which have been falling, growing again.
In January, the current 16 Extra Value Meals will decline to 11, and eight menu items will be removed. Andres didn’t provide specifics, but Reuters later reported changes would include the menu featuring one Quarter Pounder with Cheese, down from four, while certain premium chicken sandwiches and snack wraps would be dropped. “We don’t need to have a big menu board to offer variety,” he said.
