3 MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES
MCDONALDS
The McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburgerfast food restaurants, serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948 they reorganized their business as a hamburger stand using production line principles. Businessman Ray Kroc joined the company as a franchise agent in 1955. He subsequently purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers and oversaw its worldwide growth.
A McDonald's restaurant is operated by either a franchisee, an affiliate, or the corporation itself. The corporation's revenues come from the rent, royalties and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants. McDonald's revenues grew 27 percent over the three years ending in 2007 to $22.8 billion, and 9 percent growth in operating income to $3.9 billion.
McDonald's primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken, french fries, breakfastitems, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts. In response to changing consumer tastes, the company has expanded its menu to include salads, fish, wraps, smoothies, and fruit.
HISTORY
The business began in 1940, with a restaurantopened by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald at 1398 North E Street at West 14th Street in San Bernardino, California ). Their introduction of the "Speedee Service System" in 1948 furthered the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant that the White Castlehamburger chain had already put into practice more than two decades earlier. The original mascot of McDonald's was a man with a chef's hat on top of a hamburger shaped head whose name was "Speedee". Speedee was eventually replaced with Ronald McDonaldby 1967 when the company first filed a U.S. trademark on a clown shaped man having puffed out costume legs.
McDonald's first filed for a U.S. trademark on the name "McDonald's" on May 4,...