Struggling to boost profits amid increased competition, McDonald's is adding a new item to its menu in Japan: the shrimp burger.
The ¥270 (US$2.40) burger, shown to reporters yesterday and set to go on sale this month, is the latest effort by the Japan unit of the US fast-food chain to win over Japanese palates -- and spark sales.
McDonald's Japan is also testing other additions, including chicken salad and yogurt.
PHOTO: AFP
The hamburger chain with more than 3,700 stores in the world's second largest economy has tried everything from tofu burgers to advertising blitzes to coax diners back to the Golden Arches after the company posted a loss in 2002 amid the mad cow scare.
"Many people who used to come to McDonald's had stopped coming, but they're coming back," said Eikoh Harada, who took over as chief executive last year.
Profits at McDonald's Holdings Co (Japan) Ltd, about 50 percent owned by the US McDonald's Corp, have been gradually recovering since its first loss in 29 years in Japan.
Although McDonald's uses Australian beef unaffected by mad cow disease, the fatal brain-wasting ailment, Japanese consumption of beef -- and Big Macs -- dropped sharply at the time.
Yesterday's news conference, held at a McDonald's in Tokyo, included taste-tests of recent menu offerings such as a grilled chicken sandwich and yogurt with granola -- all a change of pace from the Big Mac.
The shrimp burger developed especially for Japan is a bit similar to the Filet-O-Fish, except it's filled with shrimp.
Harada defended his decision to introduce the ¥100 items, including the cheeseburger, as critical to coaxing people back to McDonald's.
In the US, McDonald's offered 99 cent Big Macs, but the discount menu has shrunk and salads can cost US$5 or more. The new chicken salads in Japan, which aren't offered at all stores, cost ¥450.
Senior Vice President Pat Donahue, Harada's predecessor, who oversees the US-Japan partnership said he had faith in Harada and a solid revival takes time.
"He's clearly turned that decline around," Donahue said. "To permanently turn our business around and have sustained profitable growth requires rebuilding a foundation for our business."
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique