Mon 29th Jul 2024 - McDonald’s hit by first global sales drop since 2020 McDonald’s hit by first global sales drop since 2020: McDonald’s has reported global like-for-like sales fell 1% in its second quarter ending 30 June 2024 – the first time sales have fallen since the last quarter of 2020. Chief executive Chris Kempczinski said: “We are confident that Accelerating the Arches is the right playbook for our business and as consumers are more discriminating with their spend, we are focused on the outstanding execution of delivering reliable, everyday value and accelerating strategic growth drivers like chicken and loyalty.” Systemwide sales to loyalty members across 50 loyalty markets were more than $26bn for the trailing 12-month period and approximately $7bn for the quarter. Second quarter like-for-likes were down 0.7% in the US, which the company said was driven by negative comparable guest counts, partly offset by average transaction growth due to strategic menu price increases. McDonald’s said successful restaurant level execution and continued digital and delivery growth positively contributed to results. Like-for-like sales in the quarter for the “international operated” segment, which includes the UK, fell 1.1%, which McDonald’s said was impacted by negative comparable sales across a number of markets, driven by France. In the “international developmental” licenced segment, second-quarter like-for-like sales decreased 1.3%, where the company said the continued impact of the war in the Middle East and negative comparable sales in China more than offset positive comparable sales in Latin America and Japan. Total revenue in the quarter fell 1% to $6,490m from $ 6,498m the year before. Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, said in an open letter in May that the average cost of a Big Mac meal had risen 27%since 2019, to $9.29 in the US, though he said the cost of many menu items had been outpaced by inflation. The company and its competitors are now offering discounts to lure back customers. A $5 deal for a sandwich, chicken nuggets, fries and a drink that McDonald’s launched in the US late last month has boosted footfall, according to Placer.ai, which tracks location data from mobile devices. McDonald’s features in the Propel UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database, which is an exhaustive guide to the companies offering a food and beverage franchise in the UK and is available exclusively to Premium subscribers. The database is updated every two months and the latest version features 260 businesses. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.