Advertising Age: McDonald's Corp. CEO Jim Skinner took great care during the the company's third quarter earnings call to paint his company as recession-resistant and tout its franchisees' access to credit.
Even so, inflation and rising commodity costs have made its value-menu platform and its top-selling double cheeseburger a difficult business proposition for some franchisees. Skinner said that McDonald's USA is working with its franchisees to solve profitability issues with the double cheeseburger. McDonald's also ensured investors that the dollar menu would remain and that franchisees have sufficient access to credit to keep the company's McCafe coffee rollout on track for completion in mid-2009. There are now 3,800 restaurants with a specialty coffee bar in place, up from 2,500 just a month ago.
Read also, McDonald's tests Dollar Menu changes, The decline of the dollar menu or Global comps continue to drive McDonald's.
