McDonald’s promotions and new products failed to provide hoped-for relief in the second quarter, leading to a 2 percent decline in domestic same-store sales, the company acknowledged today.
Near-term efforts to win back customers will include continued testing of all-day breakfast and ongoing simplification of the chain’s menu, the franchisor stressed.
Operating income for U.S. operations fell 6 percent.
CEO Steve Easterbrook noted that many of the corporate and cultural changes he foreshadowed earlier this year are now in place, and spoke about longer-range efforts to revive the brand.
“We are aligning our initiatives and resources behind longer-term strategic actions with the ability to drive meaningful improvements in our business,” he said in a statement.
McDonald’s has loosened the hands of franchisees and local management in hopes of sparking a turnaround. Units in many areas have responded by giving their menus local tweaks, from adding lobster rolls to putting heads on fountains for a local soda like Vernors.
Today’s announcement was the first indication of how those efforts are working. Easterbrook announced several months ago that McDonald’s will no longer reveal monthly comparable-sales results.
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