McDonald's Company

The number one fast-food chain

McDonald's is the world's leading food service retailer with more than 30,000 local restaurants in 121 countries serving 45 million customers each day.

The McDonald's History

Raymond Albert Kroc 1902-1984, A Salesman

Ray Kroc mortgaged his home and invested his entire life savings to become the exclusive distributor of a five-spindled milk shake maker called the Multimixer. Hearing about the McDonald's hamburger stand in California running eight Multimixers at a time, he packed up his car and headed West. It was 1954. He was 52 years old.

Where it all began, Des Plaines, Illinois

Ray Kroc opened the Des Plaines restaurant in 1955. First day's revenues-$366.12! It's no longer a functioning restaurant, the Des Plaines building is now a museum containing McDonald's memorabilia and artifacts, including the Multimixer!

Ronald McDonald, In Any Language He Means "Fun!"

"The smile known around the world," Ronald McDonald is second only to Santa Claus in terms of recognition. In his first TV appearance in 1963, the happy clown was portrayed by none other than Willard Scott.

Fred Turner And Ray Kroc, Architects Of A Dream

Ray Kroc and Fred Turner study the design which would replace the red and white tile buildings that had become landmarks throughout the United States. Called Kroc's first "grill man extraordinaire," Turner is today Senior Chairman of the Board.

McDonald's Comes To Wall Street

In 1965 McDonald's went public with the company's first offering on the stock exchange. A hundred shares of stock costing $2,250 dollars that day would have multiplied into 74,360 shares today, worth over $2.8 million on December 31, 1998. In 1985, McDonald's was added to the 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average.

A Big Idea Called "Big Mac"

Introduced system wide in 1968, the Big Mac was the brainchild of Jim Delligatti, one of Ray Kroc's earliest franchisees, who by the late 1960s operated a dozen stores in Pittsburgh.

The Egg McMuffin

Introduced in 1973, the Egg McMuffin was developed by owner operator Herb Peterson.

The First Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia, PA

In 1974, Fred Hill of the Philadelphia Eagles teamed up with McDonald's to create Ronald McDonald House. The families of critically ill children have a place to call home while they're away from home as the young patients undergo treatment for their conditions.

The Happy Meal

Since 1979, the Happy Meal has been making kids visits that much more special. Clubs the world over collect Happy Meals toys and boxes.

The Future Begins Now

McDonald's Express for a world that can't slow down! McDonald's is popping up in more non-traditional locations like Amoco and Chevron stations, with full menu offerings and dining room seating, just like you'll find in a traditional McDonald's.

Kuwait City, Kuwait

Kuwait City is pretty far from Des Plaines, Illinois, but that didn't stop 15,000 customers from lining up on opening day in 1994. The line at the drive through

was seven miles long.

McDonald's On The Worldwide Web!

Forty three years after opening the first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, McDonald's are proud to come on the World Wide Web. McDonalds.com receives millions and millions of hits every week.

McDonald's at a Glance

Headquarters Oak Brook, Illinois

First Restaurant Des Plaines, Illinois, 1955

First foreign franchise Canada, 1967

First foreign franchise outside North America Costa Rica

Latest foreign franchise French Guiana

Number of customer visits to Mc Donald's worldwide 45 million/day; 16.1 billion/year

Share of U.S. fast-food market 42%

Percentage of corporation profits derived from

foreign sales 60%

Major sponsorship NBA; Winter Olympics, Nagano, Japan; NASCAR; World Cup Soccer

Annual revenues $40 billion

Total number of employees worldwide 1,150,000

Total number of employees in the United States 650,000

Estimated percentage of U.S. labor force whose

first work experience was McDonald's 7%

Most well-known charitable activities Ronald McDonald House

U.S. Fortune 500 rank 135

Global Fortune 500 rank 397

How Did McDonald's Become a Global Corporations?

* Lower Production Costs - This goal is achieved by hiring employees who will work for lower wages, by introducing labor-saving technologies, by reducing the number of employees and by moving production facilities out of high-wage zones. A second strategy to lower production costs is to identify new sources of low-wage labor. McDonald's boasts that it is the largest employer of teenagers and that it actively recruits minorities, senior citizens and the disabled.

* Create New Products That Consumers Need to Buy - Every new menu item represents a "new product." McDonald's and other fast-food chains have been particularly successful in marketing their products to children. The company offers Happy Meals that come with toys that many child (and some adults) "need to have", such as Teenie Beanie Babies and toys made popular by Disney movies.

* Improve on Existing Products and Make Previous Versions Obsolete This strategy includes making existing food items bigger and better. Fast-food companies compete, for example, to make french fires better (hotter