Things happen fast in the 21st century. Gay marriage was nowhere just half a decade ago–now even the Supreme Court says fine, go ahead you two lovebirds. McDonald’s has been the symbol of fast quick cheap food–not necessarily high in nutrition–for a long time now. Business is down. It’s not a positive image anymore in our increasingly health conscious society. But it hadn’t hurt the company until last year, when a steady decade of growth in the US market turned south. Sales were off and customer traffic plummeted. Will 2013 be a tipping point for McDonald’s?
CEO Don Thompson is trying to reverse the slide. McDonald’s is handing over its US operations to Mike Andres, a former McDonald’s executive. He’ll replace Jeff Stratton who has run McDonald’s USA–which accounts for 30% of McDonald’s worldwide sales–since 2012, presiding over the decline. McDonald’s watchers will be keeping an eye on Warren Buffett’s reaction. Buffett recently sold 25% of his GM holdings, after that US company failed to meet his expectations.
