The fast food giant has put lean years behind it, with its shares hitting record highs. Sam Chambers reports on the Golden Arches revival for The Sunday Times
Surrounded by a pile of coats, rucksacks and kids’ scooters, Tariq Chadury reclines in his chair to enjoy what looks like a rare moment of peace.
“Why do you like coming here boys?” he asks his two young sons, both engrossed in computer games on the tablets affixed to the Formica-topped table. “It’s yummy!” they shoot back in unison. And then, right on cue, their Happy Meals arrive.
While the stock market has been collapsing, shares in McDonald’s quietly hit an all-time high last week of $281.50. Globally, like-for-like sales jumped 10 per cent in the third quarter, a level of growth any other high street chain would kill for.
How is McDonald’s achieving it, almost 50 years after it arrived in the UK? “You know the food is going to be consistent,” said Chadury, who works in digital publishing. “I know what I’m going to get, the kids know what they are going to get and, while it may not be the healthiest, it’s cheap. In the current crisis, that’s good.”
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