Unhappy Meal: McDonald’s sales fried across the globe by coronavirus lockdowns
McDonald’s sales fell by about one-third across the globe over the first two months of the current quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic forced it to close stores across Europe.
The fast food giant said that demand had improved significantly from April to May, as many of its restaurants reopened to diners, especially in the US.
Overall same-store sales tumbled 39 per cent in April compared to the same period last year, but only fell 21 per cent in May.
Several states in the US have now lifted restrictions that were imposed to stop the spread of the virus, which included only allowing stores to operate on a drive-thru or delivery basis.
However, the main hit came from the closure of all of its restaurants in France, Spain, the United Kingdom and Italy in April.
In the UK and some European countries, McDonald’s began reopening restaurants in May after being completely shut for several weeks.
The company now plans to boost advertising spending by $200m as a part of its recovery plan to ride out the crisis.
The investment will be recorded in the second quarter.
“The steps we are taking in response to the pandemic and to accelerate recovery … will position us well for the next phase of this crisis,” chief executive Chris Kempczinski said.