It’s no surprise McDonald’s is struggling

The news that McDonald’s sales have fallen by 1 per cent around the world between April and June might not seem, on the face of it, to be vastly significant. After all, surely there will always be a market for cheap and cheerful hamburgers, chicken nuggets and chips that even Michelin-starred chefs rave about? Apparently not. Ever since the pandemic, when there was a considerable rise in prices, the lustre has gone off the golden arches, and profits have declined by 12 per cent. There have been calls for ‘value added’ innovations, such as the current ‘buy three items for £3’ deal, but, as one McDonald’s executive helpfully put it, saying the quiet part out loud: ‘Consumers are being more discerning about where, when and what they eat, and I would say we don’t expect significant changes in that environment for the next few quarters.’

When I was growing up in Bristol in the Eighties, visiting the McDonald’s in the city’s main shopping centre was a treat reserved for occasional Sundays, and I used to relish every moment of it.