McDonald’s U.S. chief says the company is ready for a fight.
And in order to win, the burger chain is pulling out one of the most potent weapons in its arsenal: the value meal. It’s all part of a bid to lure back penny-pinching customers who have cut back on fast food after flocking to the Golden Arches in recent years. On June 25, McDonald’s will kick off a marketing blitz and a new $5 meal deal, raising the stakes of what’s shaping up to be an all-out battle among U.
S. restaurants desperate to lure back inflation-battered diners. “We’re committed to winning the value war,” Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s U.
S., said in an interview with Bloomberg News. Last month, after Bloomberg News reported on McDonald’s plans for the $5 promotion, competitors hit back with their own deals — and insults.
Burger King’s U.S. president pledged to roll out its $5 value meal “before they do,” alluding to McDonald’s in a memo to franchisees.
Wendy’s Co. pushed out a $3 breakfast offer and took to social media to mock its competitors for copying its ideas. Even Starbucks, known for its pricey Frappuccinos and lattes, said it would offer a $6 breakfast sandwich and coffee combo.
When asked about his adversaries’ fighting words, Erlinger smiled and said he isn’t fixated on the competition. As the largest restaurant chain in the U.S.
by sales, he said McDonald’s size and marketing muscle gives the $130 billion company an edge over smaller rivals and the abi.
