McDonald’s (China) Co., Ltd. officially changed its name to Golden Arches (China) Co., Ltd. on October 12, 2017.

McDonald’s China. As a global fast food giant, a name that has been used for sixty or seventy years will not be changed casually. There is a big reason behind the name change.

In fact, the "Golden Arches" and McDonald's have an indissoluble bond. The name "Golden Arches" did not come out of nowhere. In fact, the name was registered as early as 1993.

McDonald's was originally founded by a pair of brothers named McDonald. Later, Ray Kroc became its franchisee and later bought it out for $2.7 million. The right to use the McDonald's trademark gradually began to be used as a chain franchise to create the McDonald's empire.

The first franchise store was built in the shape of two huge golden arches. When Kroc saw the painting hung on the wall by the McDonald brothers, he excitedly painted a scene: American families in the future gathered under the Golden Arches, full of joy. Kroc fell in love with the Golden Arches at first sight, and the restaurant had just opened. It caused a sensation when it opened, because the golden color is very recognizable, and it is reminiscent of companies with affordable prices, and the M-shaped arch design is very soft, attracting customers into the door of joy like a magnet. The important thing is that you can see it from a distance.

The golden double arches later became the standard design of McDonald’s franchises and gradually became McDonald’s LOGO. Westerners call it the “Golden Arch”. What's more, there was the "Golden Arches Theory" 20 years ago - any two countries that opened McDonald's stores would not go to war with each other, because they would replace their desire for war with Big Macs and French fries.

Behind the name change is a change in the company's development strategy and competitiveness. Therefore, the name change to "Golden Arches" is somewhat related to the historical origin of the McDonald's brand, but the name change is just a superficial appearance. The name change heralds changes in the company's future development strategy and core competitiveness.

At the end of July this year, McDonald's announced that its strategic cooperation with CITIC Holdings, CITIC Capital and Carlyle Group had been completed. The established McDonald's China will become McDonald's master franchisee in mainland China and Hong Kong, China, and will be responsible for operating and managing approximately 2,500 McDonald's restaurants in mainland China and approximately 240 McDonald's restaurants in Hong Kong, China.

Previously, some catering people said that the current franchise website and franchise consultation hotline of McDonald's China cannot be opened and dialed.

Wang Jianhui, senior public relations manager of McDonald's Beijing Co., Ltd., said in response to the media that the new company. It will operate and manage McDonald's business in mainland China and Hong Kong in the next 20 years to promote rapid business expansion.

In McDonald's third quarter report released on October 24, McDonald's stated that as of September. Within the three months of the 30th, due to the sale of franchise rights in Mainland China and Hong Kong, starting from the third quarter, the operating income of stores in Mainland China and Hong Kong will no longer be included in McDonald's overall revenue.

In the "Vision 2022" accelerated development plan for mainland China previously announced by New McDonald's China, it was proposed to maintain an average annual double-digit growth goal in the next five years, and a large part of this will come from the performance of new stores. . Therefore, store expansion has become the top priority of the new company in this "five-year plan".

After 60 years, McDonald’s still needs to keep changing to keep up with the pace of development. According to the plan, within five years, the number of McDonald’s restaurants in the mainland will increase from 2,500 to 4,500, and the rate of store opening will also increase from 250 per year to 4,500 per year. 500 homes.

McDonald’s anxiety is understandable, because in the mainland market, their old rival KFC has opened more than 5,000 stores and covers China’s fourth and fifth tier cities.

Data obtained by "Curiosity Daily" shows that KFC's share of China's chain restaurant market in 2016 was twice that of McDonald's, with shares of 11.6 and 5.6 respectively.

Opening more stores quickly will be the key to McDonald's competition with KFC, and franchising may be the most effective way.