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Thousands of Chicagoans flooded McDonald’s stores Tuesday, hoping to land one of 800 local McJobs.
The hiring day culminated a weeks-long advertising and public-relations campaign for the burger giant’s plans to hire 50,000 store-level employees nationwide. Get the full story »
Along with the Big Breakfast and Big Macs, McDonald’s Corp. has 50,000 new jobs on its national menu today.
Fifteen-hundred of those jobs are being offered in the Chicago area. Jobs to be offered in the U.S. range from restaurant crew to salaried management. Get the full story »
Shares of Arcos Dorados Holdings, a large South American franchisee of fast-food chain McDonald’s, rose 27 percent in their stock market debut as investors clamored for exposure to the famous brand in a region with booming consumer spending. Get the full story »
Coffee cups at the McDonald's restaurant at Fullerton & Central in Chicago. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune)
Fickle coffee drinkers are most loyal to a purveyor better known for burgers, a new study found. Coffee customers of McDonald’s Corp., said they were more loyal to the home of the Big Mac than those who frequent Starbucks Corp. and Dunkin’ Donuts in a study by market research firm CustomersDNA LLC.
The as-yet unpublished study involved 15,000 fast-food customers who were asked about their coffee and breakfast-buying habits, only 29 percent of McDonald’s customers said they go to a Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts for coffee or breakfast in a given month. Get the full story »
Arcos Dorados Holdings, a large South American franchisee of U.S. fast-food chain McDonald’s sold more shares than originally planned at a price above the proposed range in an IPO on Wednesday, a source familiar with the deal said. Get the full story »
U.S. fast-food chain McDonald’s Corp. said Wednesday it had scrapped a television commercial in the devoutly Catholic Philippines after facing a barrage of criticism from church leaders. Get the full story »
McDonald Corp.’s biggest franchisee, Argentina-based Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc., is expected to go public this week in an offering whose value could approach $1 billion, the latest sign that the market for initial public offerings is heating up. Get the full story »
McDonald’s Corp. and 11 other companies were tapped Tuesday by Working Mother magazine as the best companies for hourly employees in 2011. Get the full story »
Wendy's natural-cut fries debuted in November. (Wendy's/Arby's)
Wendy’s/Arby’s Group Inc. is standing up to its biggest burger rival, McDonald’s Corp., by putting its marketing dollars toward gaining more french fry market share. By changing its recipe to differ more from McDonald’s french fries, Wendy’s is choosing to compete by being unique, rather than solely by trying to be better.
“French fries are a significant part of our menu,” said Ken Calwell, Wendy’s chief marketing officer. “And it’s so hard to have something unique and different, that still tastes good, in the fast-food industry. So, we see the new fries as a huge opportunity for us.” Get the full story »
McDonald’s Corp. Chief Executive Jim Skinner received a total of $9.7 million in compensation in 2010, including his roughly $42,000 annual salary increase and a 38 percent increase in his annual performance bonus. Get the full story »
The Japanese unit of McDonald’s Corp. said Friday that same store sales in March declined 7.3 percent on year, falling short of year-earlier levels for the first time in four months due to the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck northeast Japan. Get the full story »
Ronald McDonald slaps first graders' hands as they head to lunch at Dawes Elementary School in Evanston in 2008. (Heather Stone/Chicago Tribune)
McDonald’s Corp. is putting its long-time character Ronald McDonald back on television and bolstering his web presence, resetting its sights on younger consumers after its recent push to target adults with specialty coffee and smoothies.
The new commercials starting Wednesday, starring McDonald’s mascot of 48 years, encourage kids to go to HappyMeal.com, with parents’ permission, to play games and create photos with Ronald. Get the full story »
A child eating fries from a McDonald's Happy Meal at Navy Pier, July 7, 2010. (William DeShazer/Chicago Tribune)
A New York City councilman is planning to introduce legislation to ban McDonald’s fast food meals unless they meet certain nutritional standards.
Councilman Leroy Comrie of Queens plans to announce the legislation at a press event at 11 a.m. CST, according to his chief of staff. The proposed bill would make it illegal to distribute toys, games, trading cards or admission tickets along with any meal for children unless they have less than 500 calories, 600 mg of sodium and 35 percent of calories from fat, excluding nuts, seeds and nut butters. Get the full story »
To nab the attention of top-flight job candidates, McDonald’s is tackling the image of a “McJob” with a weeks-long advertising and public-relations campaign leading up to April 19, when McDonald’s Corp. plans to hire 50,000 store-level employees.
McDonald’s Corp. has been forced to step up imports to Japan of items like sauces, oil and lettuce by between 10 percent and 20 percent to counter supply-chain disruptions and damage from the earthquake and resulting tsunami. Get the full story »
