Case study on McDonalds

In 1967 McDonalds opened its first restaurant in Canada for the first time outside the United States of America (USA). By 1985 international sales represented about a fifth of their total revenue. Yet fast food has barely touched new cultures. While 90% of 6the Japanese population in Tokyo have eaten a McDonalds hamburger, few outside the cities know what a hamburger is. In Europe, McDonalds maintains a very small percentage of restaurant sales but commands a large share of the fast-food market. It took the company 14 years of planning before it opened a restaurant in Moscow. But the planning paid off. People stand in line up to two hours for a hamburger. Despite the high prices, McDonald` s restaurant in Moscow attracts more visitors- on average, 27000 daily- than Lenins mausolem (about 9000 people), which used to be the place to see.

Source: Weinrich and Kroontz, (1993).

Using the information in the case study, answer the following questions.

a) Mention at least three countries that McDonalds used as part of its internationalised strategy to enter.

b) Give possible push and pull factors of McDonalds in entering markets in Europe. (Hint: The push factors relate the companys home market in the USA and the pull factors relate to the markets in Europe).

c) What are the possible challenges that a manager assigned from the USA can face in the Japanese market?