McDonald’s

"Power must be considered relative to each competitor, actual and implicit. With Counter-Positioning, this is particulary important, because this type of Power only applies relative to the incumbent and says nothing regarding Power relative to other firms utilizing the new business model. So it remains only a partial strategy. To assure value creation, it must be complemented by a route to Power respective to other like competitors. For example, In-N-Out has Counter-Positioning Power over McDonald’s, but this helps them not at all in facing like competitors such as Five Guys Burgers and Fries."

"And as if that were not enough, competition is intensifying. New players in fast food are making an appearance in the market. Nineteen seventy-two marks the strong arrival of the “empire” McDonald’s in Quebec. Six years later, about fifty establishments will be set up there. In 1973, it was ten Mikes Submarines restaurants that made their home in the beautiful province. In the United States, where spending on food away from home exploded between 1960 and 1972, increasing by 103%, the growth of fast food is showing signs of slowing down. Canada and Quebec thus appear as a Klondike for American chains in search of new markets: Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Burger King are also preparing to cross the border. Although indirect, this imminent competition threatens to shake the foundations—and the plates!—of St-Hubert Bar-B-Q. It’s fair play, but a counterattack is becoming urgent."

"the problem with pragmatism is that it rapidly becomes a habit, and short-term gratification – expressed in profits, cash and the praise which goes with them – becomes a drug that drives out long-term customer-related aspirations. It takes a rare visionary – people such as Henry Ford, Ray Kroc of McDonald’s, Ingvar Kamprad of IKEA, and Southwest Airlines’ Herb Kelleher – to insist on rock-bottom prices; or, as with Steve Jobs, fantastic products and a simple, intuitive customer experience. It takes an exceptional person to take on the risk of this approach – the risk of going bust."

"America’s first franchise motel company, Holiday Inn, was founded in the early 1950s by Memphis home builder Kemmons Wil¬ son with much the same promise. You never wrote home about the accommodations, but every Holiday Inn met certain standards of cleanliness and service, regardless of its location. Pull in with your weary family after a day of dusty driving, and you knew just what to expect. I call this type of consumer promise consistent mediocrity. Don’t un¬ derestimate its power, especially at lower price points. Howard John¬ son restaurants and Holiday Inn motels had the same underlying appeal that food giants such as McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s have. Are you passionately drawn to the sandwich you order at Wendy’s, or are you more interested in its competitive price, con¬ sistency, and convenience? McDonald’s rarely comes out on top in newspaper surveys of the best burgers in town. America’s quick-serve burger franchises, now doing successful business around the world, are really in the frozen food distribution business. They specialize in serving customers a protein fix in environments of little excitement or delight. But a Quarter Pounder with cheese tastes the same in Bal¬ timore or Beijing. And McDonald’s bathrooms are clean all over the planet—no small feat!"

"Jonathan Brandt when I noticed that Don Keough was standing nearby. Keough is a renowned business leader who has served on the boards of companies like Berkshire, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s."