The sizzling sales McDonald's hoped for when it launched a 55-cents deal on Big Mac sandwiches have so far turned out to be a McFlop, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The burger behemoth has been surveying 3,000 of its domestic restaurants - about a quarter of the total - since it began the Big Mac offer two weeks ago and has found that sales are actually off as much as 6 percent compared with last year, the newspaper said."There was a lot of anticipation for this to kick in, and it hasn't yet," said Bob Srygley, the operator of four stores in Arkansas. He said he has been forced to throw away several trays of Big Mac buns because of the lagging sales.
Dick Adams, the head of a San Diego-based consortium of McDonald's franchisees, said many of his group's members are "almost relieved" that the promotion has yet to catch on, because it isn't clear that any profit can be made at the 55-cent price.
A McDonald's spokesman told the newspaper that despite the reports, the company has seen an increase in total sandwich sales. He added that the 55-cent promotion is "a long-term initiative to increase restaurant and company profits and cash flow while giving customers a better value (and it) is doing just that."
The 55-cent deal - McDonald's was founded in 1955 - is expected to last until at least December.
Several franchisees said that while the Big Mac sales are disappointing, there has been a strong reaction to the restaurants' 55-cent breakfast sandwiches.
In addition to the 55-cent deals, the restaurants also are planning a speedier service campaign.