'Further price increases can't be ruled out, but we're still maintaining good value' McCrow says Credit: Paul Grover
McDonald's expansion plans in the UK are collapsing due to bureaucracy and bureaucratic delays, fast food chain boss says.
Aleister McCrow, UK chief executive, said the company had to wait up to three years to open new restaurants due to delays at local council level and excessive bureaucracy.
Mr Macrow told The Telegraph: 55 weeks after Covid.
“Today, it takes us almost three years from approval of a new site to launch. Of these three years, only 43 weeks are under our control, the rest is out of our control.”
The company's developers are complaining about long delays in obtaining planning permission, especially house builders are sounding the alarm. a long wait.
The problem has been blamed on tougher new environmental regulations and a lack of qualified staff in local councils.
A shortage of experienced board planners means the approval process takes 55 weeks longer, Mr. Macrow says. Photo: Paul Grover
Chief Commercial Officer Darren Rodwell, spokesman for the Local Government Association's Housing Development Association, said: “Councils have lost a number of experienced planners. officers in recent years as a result of increased workloads, especially due to the pandemic and salaries that can hardly compete with the private sector.”
Mr Macrow's frustration comes when McDonald's launches a massive investment drive in the UK. The fast food chain plans to invest around £280m in the UK over the next four years to improve the efficiency of its restaurants.
Plans include adding features such as separate waiting rooms for delivery drivers and «smart» scales in the kitchen that can determine if the products are included in the packaged order.
The investment comes as McDonald's struggles to cut costs during the worst inflationary crisis in 40 years. Last year, the chain was forced to raise the price of a cheeseburger from 99p to £1.19 for the first time in 14 years.
Mcrow, who has been with the company since 2007, said: “When I was marketing director in the UK, I was very excited about the launch of our save menu — January 2, 2009, I still remember that date. We have launched Mayo Chicken, our new «hero product», 99p. At the beginning of this year it was still 99p… now we have had to raise it to £1.19.”
In some cases, the prices of some items on the menu have risen for the first time as the cost of everything from energy to wages to potatoes has skyrocketed.
He declined to rule out further price increases, but said the chain still represents a good value compared to competitors. It is hoped that investment in cost-effective technology will also help keep price increases to a minimum.
“Inflation is inflation. We cannot change that,” he said. “We sit here and you can order a hot burger, fries and a drink for £3.99. I don't know too many [companies] that can do better.”
1406 food inflation
In addition to fighting inflation, the company is struggling to restore its corporate image after a high-profile sex scandal. .
Global CEO Steve Easterbrook was fired in 2019 after he admitted to an «inappropriate» but mutual affair with an employee.
Mr. Easterbrook was given a generous tens of millions of dollars severance package, but McDonald's subsequently sued him to return the award after it found evidence of other, undisclosed sexual relationships with employees.
Now the company threatened with litigation. a U.S. lawsuit by aggrieved shareholders who accused Mr. Easterbrook and other senior management of creating a «holiday atmosphere» that fueled the scandal.
In the UK, the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union) said it was aware of 1,000 incidents of harassment against McDonald's employees in 2019.
McDonald's says this figure is » has not been confirmed and no evidence was presented to us at the time relating to this number of cases.”
Mr Macrow, who was appointed to run the UK and Ireland business in 2021, said the company exists “ a strong culture of people who enjoy being together.”
Of Mr. Easterbrook, he said: the company.
“The culture of the company has always been very, very strong. Yes, there is a particular situation that got a lot of publicity and was handled exactly as it should have been.
“It was handled that way because values are the most important thing in our business, and it’s straight forward.”
Mr. Easterbrook was fired as chief executive of McDonald's due to an «inappropriate» but consensual relationship with an employee Photo: Hannelore Foerster/Getty Images
He stresses that the company has «redoubled its efforts» to ensure safety, including a legally binding agreement with Equality & Commission on Human Rights earlier this year to protect employees from sexual harassment.
Mr. McCrow, who also worked for Marks & Spencer and Debenhams said: «We are committed to ensuring that there is no place for harassment of any kind.»
He said that McDonald's, like several other companies, canceled its membership in the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) when the lobbying group was involved in a sexual harassment scandal earlier this year.
In addition of their culture, Mr. McCrow must also continue to work to change the perception of McDonald's as junk food.
Ever since the Super Size Me documentary was released nearly 20 years ago, the network has struggled to shed its association with poor nutrition and poor health. back.
In 2019, then Labor Deputy Leader Tom Watson called one of his ad campaigns «dangerous to public health» because of a Monopoly-themed marketing campaign that offered desserts and other items.
Obesity has only become a bigger problem since the pandemic, and NHS England last week announced the opening of 10 more specialist obesity clinics for children following a surge in overweight young people.
Mr, 53 Macrow, who worked at McDonald's as global marketing director during the pandemic, acknowledges that «obesity is a problem in this country» but says his company is doing its part.
He said that McDonald's has removed thousands of tons of fat, salt and sugar from its menu over the past few years.
Total energy intake from processed foods and obesity rates
“We started with the Happy Meal,” he said. . “We were basically into things like nuggets and french fries in terms of salt, fat and sugar. We have significantly reduced the amount of salt in French fries.»
Mr. McCrow disagrees that most McDonald's products should be categorized as ultra-processed foods (UPF), a classification that has recently has attracted public attention due to its negative health effects.
He said. : “You go to our beef factory in Yorkshire and watch whole cuts of beef come through the back door. They are sent to a meat grinder, turned into cutlets and frozen. That's all. And then after we cook them, we'll add salt and pepper.
“I'm sure there are people who think it's ultra-processed food. To me, it's fresh beef served really well.
«I don't know how many people realize that every Egg McMuffin comes from someone cracking an egg in one of our kitchens, putting it in, and putting it in . on the grill.”
McDonald's is selling a vegan burger called McPlant in the UK, despite being pulled out of business in the US after last year's trial. It comes amid a broader slowdown in demand for vegan alternatives, which have skyrocketed in popularity during the pandemic.
Mr Macrow believes vegan options will remain, but says many have gone «too too fast» into its extension.
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