McDonald’s supersizes China bet as corporate America pulls back

livemint.com:

HONG KONG—Some U.S. consumer brands in China are struggling with tepid consumer demand and a trend toward nationalist buying. McDonald’s is leaning in.

The fast-food company plans to nearly double its restaurants in China to more than 10,000 by the end of 2028, after recently spending $1.8 billion to buy back a bigger slice of its business in the country. One of its challenges is a burgeoning Chinese rival called Tastien, which caters to local appetites with inexpensive burgers made of Peking duck, spicy tofu or fish-flavored pork, in addition to beef. The interiors of its restaurants are decked out in red and feature slogans such as “made in China" and “Chinese stomachs love Chinese burgers." Not to be outdone, Chicago-based McDonald’s has been offering new creations such as wraps made of chicken and pickled bamboo shoots, and promotions that have included Coca-Cola-flavored chicken wings and a sandwich made of Spam luncheon meat and Oreo cookie crumbs.

The company has created quirky promotions appealing to younger customers that have gone viral on social media. One is a combo meal that comes in a “cat box" made for felines to play in. In some stores the chain also unveiled exercise bikes equipped with trays, allowing riders to munch their meals while pedaling to wirelessly charge their mobile phones.

China is now the fastest-growing market for McDonald’s and its second-largest by number of stores, with more than 5,500, the company said in November. The more than 1,000 new restaurants McDonald’s opened in China last year marked a record for the company, Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden said during a February earnings call. Some lunchtime diners on a recent afternoon at a McDonald’s in Beijing said that while they are