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Getting McLean
Aired January 23, 2003 - 10:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: McDonald's is reintroducing the concept of going McLean. But it has nothing to do with another attempt at a healthy burger. This time, it's all about trimming the fat to beef up the company's bottom line.
Our Ceci Rodgers joins us now from a McDonald's in Chicago with details on that.
Good morning.
CECI RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Well, McDonald's reporting its first ever quarterly loss since the company went public in 1965. And it has a new CEO who is moving quickly to try and please Wall Street, but there doesn't seem to be any pleasing Wall Street lately. They're going to be closing down an additional 517 stores in 2003, this year, in addition to the 202 that they closed last year. That's unusual for McDonald's. There have been some years when it's opened 1,000 new stores. It will be opening some new stores this year, but mainly paring down the older ones that are not profitable.
The stock, however, has fallen to a fresh yearly low in response to this earnings report.
We're here with a couple of customers to kind of get the pulse of what people are thinking about McDonald's. This is Joe and Ed, and you guys came over from the construction site, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're working down the street.
RODGERS: So what do you think about how McDonald's is doing right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm not a real big McDonald's eater. I don't eat there that often, but when I do, you know, it's usually a quick sandwich or something for lunch. But I think they're doing okay, as good as any other chain.
RODGERS: What about you, Ed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, like Joe said, you know, we come down here for break and stuff, and it seems like they gear more towards kids with what they do. And as far as, you know, closing down stores, with the way the economy's been going, there's not a lot of investor confidence in basically any, you know, of the businesses. So you've got to maintain a profit.
RODGERS: Reporter: well, you said you ordered a breakfast sandwich, just the tried and true, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, just the breakfast bagel sandwich, and something for, you know, break.
RODGERS: OK, thanks, Joe and Ed. Here at the McDonald's. And this is the typical McDonald's customer. Of course, they're trying to figure out ways to get people in more often to try to pull more cash out of these restaurants -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Ceci, let me just ask you, is there any chance that McDonald's is going to do anything ingredientwise, maybe with ingredients that they say are more expensive maybe than others? Anything on that notion?
RODGERS: Well, in terms of which stores they're closing, it's going to be the ones in bad locations that are not profitable. They laid off 600 people in association with that last year. And no indication of how many layoffs will be this year, but we will hear more from the company's CEO in a conference call in a couple of hours.
COLLINS: Very good. Ceci Rodgers, thank you.
RODGERS: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 23, 2003 - 10:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: McDonald's is reintroducing the concept of going McLean. But it has nothing to do with another attempt at a healthy burger. This time, it's all about trimming the fat to beef up the company's bottom line.
Our Ceci Rodgers joins us now from a McDonald's in Chicago with details on that.
Good morning.
CECI RODGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Well, McDonald's reporting its first ever quarterly loss since the company went public in 1965. And it has a new CEO who is moving quickly to try and please Wall Street, but there doesn't seem to be any pleasing Wall Street lately. They're going to be closing down an additional 517 stores in 2003, this year, in addition to the 202 that they closed last year. That's unusual for McDonald's. There have been some years when it's opened 1,000 new stores. It will be opening some new stores this year, but mainly paring down the older ones that are not profitable.
The stock, however, has fallen to a fresh yearly low in response to this earnings report.
We're here with a couple of customers to kind of get the pulse of what people are thinking about McDonald's. This is Joe and Ed, and you guys came over from the construction site, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're working down the street.
RODGERS: So what do you think about how McDonald's is doing right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm not a real big McDonald's eater. I don't eat there that often, but when I do, you know, it's usually a quick sandwich or something for lunch. But I think they're doing okay, as good as any other chain.
RODGERS: What about you, Ed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, like Joe said, you know, we come down here for break and stuff, and it seems like they gear more towards kids with what they do. And as far as, you know, closing down stores, with the way the economy's been going, there's not a lot of investor confidence in basically any, you know, of the businesses. So you've got to maintain a profit.
RODGERS: Reporter: well, you said you ordered a breakfast sandwich, just the tried and true, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, just the breakfast bagel sandwich, and something for, you know, break.
RODGERS: OK, thanks, Joe and Ed. Here at the McDonald's. And this is the typical McDonald's customer. Of course, they're trying to figure out ways to get people in more often to try to pull more cash out of these restaurants -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Ceci, let me just ask you, is there any chance that McDonald's is going to do anything ingredientwise, maybe with ingredients that they say are more expensive maybe than others? Anything on that notion?
RODGERS: Well, in terms of which stores they're closing, it's going to be the ones in bad locations that are not profitable. They laid off 600 people in association with that last year. And no indication of how many layoffs will be this year, but we will hear more from the company's CEO in a conference call in a couple of hours.
COLLINS: Very good. Ceci Rodgers, thank you.
RODGERS: Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
