Thursday, October 30, 2008

McDonald's Double Cheeseburger and the McDouble

The Wall Street woes have officially hit just about every Main Street in America today... every one with a McDonald's at least.

McDonald's is planning to take their much beloved Double Cheeseburger off the Dollar Menu.

They're replacing it with the new "McDouble." The McDouble still has 2 meat patties, but only 1 slice of cheese.

The Double Cheeseburger would still be available, but not on the Dollar Menu, it will be priced somewhere above $1.

There has been much speculation lately on the fate of the Double Cheeseburger, but these appear to be the final plans as laid out in a memo to franchisees. Franchisees will vote on the plans in November.

“The recommendation to add McDouble to our popular Dollar Menu reflects
that we’re . . . providing our customers even more choices, with the
everyday affordability our customers expect,” McDonald’s said in a
statement. “The recommendation to adjust the price of the Double
Cheeseburger allows us to continue to provide the same great-tasting
burger our customers know and love, still at a great value.”

McDonald's has been testing the Double Cheeseburger changes in some markets and have found that most people prefer to keep the second piece of cheese and spend a little more.

Removing 1 piece of cheese will save McDonald's about 6 cents per sandwich.

Evidently the Double Cheeseburger/McDouble changes could boost cash flow by $15,000 a year per restaurant.

“This sounds like a legitimate option to remove a piece of cheese, but
it seems odd to offer both double cheeseburgers,” says Larry Miller, an
analyst in Atlanta with RBC Capital Markets. “Any change to the Dollar
Menu is really important because it is in such high demand now.”

The Dollar Menu accounts for 14% of McDonald's US sales.

I suppose this was inevitable. When you sell as many burgers as McDonald's does, one piece of cheese can make a big difference to the bottom line.

But it does seem odd that they couldn't make up their mind to either raise the price or cut the cheese (sorry) and instead decide to do both.

Now, I guess, it will be up to us when we're in the drive-thru... more cash for extra cheese or a buck for 1 slice less?

What will you choose? Take the poll...



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3 Comments:

Blogger Valarie said...

As I understand, most people would choose to pay the extra cash instead of feel shafted for getting less. But, in this very money-minded time, I think some will find that if there's less cash in their pockets, but they can still get a burger for the same price, they will be happy.
I think it is a good move, at least initially. If after a period of time the public speaks up to their preference, they might be able to drop one of the two.

10/31/2008 3:26 PM  
Anonymous AverageJoeAmerican said...

I like the lower calorie count of the $1 McDouble. And yes, I count calories, maintain a healthy body weight, AND eat McDonald's. I eat there because I appreciate that they actually list the calorie counts on their packaging.

11/03/2008 8:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wait a second now! The choice is either spend $2 for a double with 2 cheeses or else $2 for two entire mcdoubles? Why is this even a question?

11/24/2008 1:18 PM  

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