Today’s Wall Street Journal has an interesting article on McDonald’s’ plan to add a full-scale coffee bar to most of its 14,000 US locations in 2008. From the article:
Internal documents from 2007 say the program, which also will add smoothies and bottled beverages, will add $1 billion to McDonald’s annual sales of $21.6 billion.
The two fast-food giants have been battling out for a few years now, as McDonald’s has upped the quality and selection of its coffee beverages and undercut Starbucks on price. Starbucks, meanwhile, has added warm breakfast sandwiches to its menu, with the hope of becoming more of a food-destination. Who will win? It’s anyone’s guess at this point. Starbucks most certainly has McDonald’s beat in terms of its inviting, sit-and-stay atmosphere, but McDonald’s will most certainly be competing on price. At the end of the day, price is important, especially if McD’s manages to compete on quality. Here at futurethink, we’re Starbucks loyalists, but that’s really because it’s closer than McDonald’s. Who wants to walk an extra three blocks for a cup of coffee? Not us. Read more at the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
