McDonald’s to close 200 locations this year

McDonald’s is shutting down about 200 restaurants this year, here’s why

Fast food king McDonald’s announced it would shut down “roughly” 200 locations, Delish reports. Some of these were stores the company was already planning on closing, but has now decided to accelerate the closures. COVID-19 isn’t to blame here, at least not entirely.

According to the source, CFO Kevin Ozan confirmed the closing of lower-volume McDonald’s locations, such as the restaurants inside of Walmart stores. These tend to be less popular, and COVID-19 hasn’t necessarily helped business.

In fact, the report continues to share that  “over half” of the 200 locations that will close this year are inside Walmart stores. The trend to have a McDonald’s inside of Walmart became popular in the 90s. Though convenient, the demand has severely died down. What do you think about the dying trend?

Does this spell trouble for McDonald’s?

Not necessarily. Remember, the fast food chain is the highest-earning fast food chain, and by a significant amount! According to Fox Business, McDonald’s collected $40.4 billion in  2019 alone. In second place came Starbucks with $21.3 billion, so you can see the difference.

Simply put, it’s going to take more than a couple of hundred closures to have an impact on the fast food king. This doesn’t mean McDonald’s shouldn’t begin thinking on new strategies to match today’s trends, which is eco-friendly and better-for-you meals.

At No. 3 for fast food 2019 earnings, comes Chick-fil-A with $11.3 billion, Taco Bell is No. 4 with $11.2 billion, and Burger King claimed $10.2 billion. On the bottom half, you’ll find Subway, Wendy’s, Dunkin’, Domino’s, and Panera Bread, in this order.

What do you think about these numbers? Did you always assume the fast food king was the highest-earning fast food chain? If so, did you think it was by this much?

What do you think about McDonald’s locations inside stores?