McDonald's dines out on customer rise

Published on Thursday 23 October 2008 10:01

FAST-FOOD chain McDonald's is seeing record numbers of diners as the economic downturn forces families to "trade down" and eat in its restaurants, according to the company's UK chief executive.

Steve Easterbrook announced that the chain is now attracting 100 million customers a month – about 12m more than the previous record, set last December.

The company announced like-for-like sales growth of more than eight per cent for the three months to September 30. He would not provide a specific sales figure for McDonald's UK, but said it was above the 8.2 per cent underlying growth for the European division, it is reported.

Mr Easterbrook said: "Those people who are coming back to McDonald's, and who have not been there for a while, are finding a whole new McDonald's. We have always had a very broad appeal and we are picking up more people across the board, but some people are trading down. A family of four can come in and have a meal for 15. We are seeing growth across the menu from the Extra Value Meals to our Rainforest Alliance coffee and premium burgers."

He said the boost in customers was also a result of changes introduced at its 1200 UK restaurants, ranging from 5am opening at some premises to new menus and new restaurant formats.

The chain's global operating income rose 20 per cent to 1.1 billion in the quarter to September 30.