By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 Commentator
Dallas, TX – "The smile known around the world." That's what they say about Ronald McDonald. Not much to smile about today. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Midday.
It was 40 years ago in 1963 when that goofy clown Ronald first started enticing children to pester parents for a burger and fries. It's also when Willard Scott debuted as the first Ronald McDonald. According to McDonald's, Ronald "is second only to Santa Claus in terms of recognition."
The history of McDonald's is probably as well known as the history of this country. Here's a quick recap anyway. 1937: Brothers Dick and Mac McDonald opened their first carhop in Pasadena with a new concept - fast service. 1948: The carhops were replaced with convenient windows for better and faster customer service. 1950: They had many franchises. '54: In walks Ray Kroc, who then becomes part of the team, and McDonald's goes national. In 1961, the McDonald brothers sell their entire rights to Kroc for a mere 3 million dollars. In 1965, McDonald's goes public selling, one hundred shares of stock. And today, McDonald's posted their first loss since going public 37 years ago.
This loss even surpassed McDonald's own expectations. The closing of about 630 restaurants and the dismantling of a technology project cost the company greatly. And let's not forget the outrageous price war between them and arch-rival Burger King. A Big Mac on sale for a dollar in 2003! I'm sure that's not what they projected five years ago. I can't even get a cup of chi-chi coffee for under a buck-fifty. And in McDonald's defense, these ridiculous lawsuits against the fast-food chain have got to be a royal pain in their Hot coffee, obese children, clogging arteries, the wrong oil for fries - come on!
But have no fear; McDonald's says profits for 2003 will be up with the opening of 1600 new restaurants worldwide. By the way, they have more than 30,000 locations in a 121 countries, but they have given up counting how many burgers have been sold. I just want a Simpsons watch.
For KERA Marketplace Midday, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m.
Email Maxine Shapiro.