Business
Crain’s Headlines: McDonald’s Struggling to Attract US Customers
Amid fierce fast-food competition, McDonald’s home market lost momentum in the latest quarter.
Bloomberg reports that same-store sales rose 5.9% globally, but the Chicago-based fast food giant is struggling to attract customers in the U.S., which accounts for more than a third of the company’s revenue.
Having recently announced a test with Beyond Meat in Canada, investors want information about McDonald’s plant-based ambitions in other markets.
In other Chicago-area business news:
JPMorgan Chase continues to scale back its brick-and-mortar network.
By the end of the year, Chicago’s largest bank will have shuttered a dozen branches in the six-county area, leaving it with the fewest number of locations it’s had in more than 13 years.
Chase will have 301 local branches, which is still significantly more than its competitors. Records show that the second-largest local bank, BMO Harris, had 184 branches in the six-county area as of June 30.
Finally, Miller Lite is the latest brand making a statement against social media addiction.
But Chicago-based Miller Coors is taking the playbook further than most, offering free beer to people who prove they’ve unfollowed the brew on Facebook and Instagram.
In its new ad campaign by DDB Chicago, Miller Lite calls itself “the original social media,” noting that “a few friends are better than a few thousand followers.”
The brand, which currently has about 120,000 Instagram followers and 2 million on Facebook, also plans to take a two-week break from social media.
Crain’s Headlines is a joint production between WTTW and Crain’s Chicago Business. It airs every Monday through Thursday on the WTTW News program “Chicago Tonight.”
Related stories:
Chicago’s Old Post Office Gets Multimillion-Dollar Makeover
Crain’s Headlines: More Problems for Troubled Ford Factory
Crain’s Headlines: Northwestern’s $10M Grant to Prevent Opioid Deaths