Taking the Fast Food Industry by Storm: McDonald’s Expands
Taking the Fast Food Industry by Storm: McDonald’s Expands
The day after he first met the McDonald brothers, Kroc pitched them his idea; he thought their successful little chain of eight restaurants could be a successful nationwide chain. When the brothers asked who would manage the expansion, Kroc was ready with his reply: “Well, what about me?” The McDonald brothers had effectively created the principles of the modern fast food industry with their Speedee Service System, but it wasn’t until Kroc came along that they began to realize their enormous potential.
In March 1955, Kroc created McDonald’s Systems Inc., renaming it to McDonald’s Corporation five years later. He acquired franchise rights and opened up his first McDonald’s franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois in April 1955. The next year, Kroc established the Franchise Realty Corporation, purchasing tracts of land to lease to eager franchisees. He also initiated a national advertising campaign. By 1960, there were over 200 McDonald’s across the U.S.
Six years later, Kroc would buy out the McDonald brothers for $2.7 million, but more importantly, he would gain complete control over the business. “The McDonald brothers were simply not on my wavelength at all,” said Kroc. “I was obsessed with the idea of making McDonald's the biggest and the best. They were content with what they had; they didn't want to be bothered with more risks and more demands.”
While he kept the fundamentals of the business in place, he made improvements elsewhere. Most importantly, Kroc cleaned it up – both literally and figuratively speaking. “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean,” he would say, insisting that everything from the kitchen floor to the parking lot was as clean as possible. Kroc also began to standardize the entire process, so that it could be effectively replicated in any city in any state across the country. Guaranteeing a hamburger fat content below 19%, and a patty which weighed 1.6 ounces and was 3.875 inches in diameter helped ensure predictability in all McDonald’s outlets, which became one of the key factors in the chain’s immense popularity.
By 1963, McDonald’s had opened its 500th restaurant, served its 1 billionth hamburger and launched its famous clown, Ronald McDonald. Kroc’s national presence was growing at a rapid pace. Within six years of airing the first McDonald’s nationally televised commercial in 1965, the Ronald McDonald clown was familiar to 96% of American children, more than the amount who even knew the name of the U.S. President.
In 1965, McDonald’s went public; 300,000 shares were initially sold at $22.50 each, later jumping to $49. Kroc had made $3 million on the sale. The company continued to expand rapidly; by 1972, there was one store for every 90,000 American citizens. But, Kroc wanted more and embarked on an ambitious campaign for foreign markets. First, the U.K., then Europe, Kroc began to erect Golden Arches in almost every continent.
In 1974, Kroc stepped down as CEO of the company he single-handedly grew into a global empire, but remained on as Chairman, and later, Senior Chairman of McDonald’s Corporation. He died of heart failure in 1984 at the age of 81, just ten months shy of McDonald’s selling its 50 billionth hamburger. That is the legacy that he leaves behind him.
Taking the Fast Food Industry by Storm McDonalds Expands
Like this article? Share it with your friends
“I was 52 years old,” recalled Kroc. “I had diabetes and incipient arthritis. I had lost my gall bladder and most of my thyroid gland in earlier campaigns, but I was convinced that the best was ahead of me.”
The day after he first met the McDonald brothers, Kroc pitched them his idea; he thought their successful little chain of eight restaurants could be a successful nationwide chain. When the brothers asked who would manage the expansion, Kroc was ready with his reply: “Well, what about me?” The McDonald brothers had effectively created the principles of the modern fast food industry with their Speedee Service System, but it wasn’t until Kroc came along that they began to realize their enormous potential.
In March 1955, Kroc created McDonald’s Systems Inc., renaming it to McDonald’s Corporation five years later. He acquired franchise rights and opened up his first McDonald’s franchise in Des Plaines, Illinois in April 1955. The next year, Kroc established the Franchise Realty Corporation, purchasing tracts of land to lease to eager franchisees. He also initiated a national advertising campaign. By 1960, there were over 200 McDonald’s across the U.S.
Six years later, Kroc would buy out the McDonald brothers for $2.7 million, but more importantly, he would gain complete control over the business. “The McDonald brothers were simply not on my wavelength at all,” said Kroc. “I was obsessed with the idea of making McDonald's the biggest and the best. They were content with what they had; they didn't want to be bothered with more risks and more demands.”
While he kept the fundamentals of the business in place, he made improvements elsewhere. Most importantly, Kroc cleaned it up – both literally and figuratively speaking. “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean,” he would say, insisting that everything from the kitchen floor to the parking lot was as clean as possible. Kroc also began to standardize the entire process, so that it could be effectively replicated in any city in any state across the country. Guaranteeing a hamburger fat content below 19%, and a patty which weighed 1.6 ounces and was 3.875 inches in diameter helped ensure predictability in all McDonald’s outlets, which became one of the key factors in the chain’s immense popularity.
By 1963, McDonald’s had opened its 500th restaurant, served its 1 billionth hamburger and launched its famous clown, Ronald McDonald. Kroc’s national presence was growing at a rapid pace. Within six years of airing the first McDonald’s nationally televised commercial in 1965, the Ronald McDonald clown was familiar to 96% of American children, more than the amount who even knew the name of the U.S. President.
In 1965, McDonald’s went public; 300,000 shares were initially sold at $22.50 each, later jumping to $49. Kroc had made $3 million on the sale. The company continued to expand rapidly; by 1972, there was one store for every 90,000 American citizens. But, Kroc wanted more and embarked on an ambitious campaign for foreign markets. First, the U.K., then Europe, Kroc began to erect Golden Arches in almost every continent.
In 1974, Kroc stepped down as CEO of the company he single-handedly grew into a global empire, but remained on as Chairman, and later, Senior Chairman of McDonald’s Corporation. He died of heart failure in 1984 at the age of 81, just ten months shy of McDonald’s selling its 50 billionth hamburger. That is the legacy that he leaves behind him.
Taking the Fast Food Industry by Storm McDonalds Expands
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
Great content...and timing. This is exactly what I needed...and at this exact time.
Commented on Taking the Fast Food Industry by Storm McDonalds Expands. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
|
 | ||
|
||
 |
||
 |
||
 | ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
 |
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
 |
 Networking Impacts Income Addictive Entrepreneurship Mastering Change Disciplines of Success Coaching System |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Marketing Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
 |
More PR Resources
Press Release Builder | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
