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Alternate titles: McDonald’s Corporation

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BY The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica | Last Updated: Sep 10, 2021 | View Edit History

McDonald’s, in full McDonald’s Corporation, American fast-food chain that is one of the largest in the
world, known for its hamburgers, especially its Big Macs. Company headquarters are in Chicago.

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McDonald's: first restaurant

McDonald's: first restaurant

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Date: 1955 - present

Areas Of Involvement: hamburger fast food cheeseburger

Related People: Steve Easterbrook Fujita Den Richard McDonald

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The first McDonald’s restaurant was opened in 1940 by brothers Maurice (“Mac”) and Richard
McDonald in San Bernardino, California. It originally was a drive-in that offered a wide selection of items.
However, in 1948 the brothers decided to revamp the business, and after a three-month renovation, a
newly envisioned McDonald’s opened. The small restaurant was designed to produce huge quantities of
food at low prices. To achieve this, the brothers limited the menu—which only featured hamburgers,
potato chips (later replaced by french fries), drinks, and pie—and developed a simple, efficient format
that they named the Speedee Service System. This included a self-service counter that eliminated the
need for waiters and waitresses, and customers received their food quickly because hamburgers were
cooked ahead of time, wrapped, and warmed under heat lamps. These innovations allowed the brothers
to charge just 15 cents for a basic hamburger, about half the price of competing restaurants.
McDonald’s was a huge success, and the brothers began a franchise program.

Ray Kroc

Ray Kroc

Ray Kroc.

Everett/Shutterstock.com

Appliances for McDonald’s were purchased from a salesman named Ray Kroc, who was intrigued by
their need for eight malt and shake mixers. In 1954 he visited the restaurant to see how a small shop
could sell so many milk shakes. Realizing there was great promise in their restaurant concept, Kroc
became a franchise agent for the brothers. In April 1955 Kroc launched McDonald’s Systems, Inc., later
known as McDonald’s Corporation, in Des Plaines, Illinois, and there he also opened the first McDonald’s
franchise east of the Mississippi River. In 1961 Kroc bought out the McDonald brothers.

Developing the brand: from franchisees to Big Macs

Realizing that franchisees were vital to the company’s success, Kroc developed exacting standards for
how each McDonald’s should be run, from food preparation to cleaning. To ensure the standardized
operation of the outlets, he created (1961) a program, later known as Hamburger University, to train
franchisees. In addition, he eventually changed the format of the restaurants, adding counter staff to
take orders, and in 1975 a McDonald’s in Arizona opened the chain’s first drive-through window, a
feature that soon became ubiquitous.
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During this time McDonald’s also introduced three features that would define its brand and further
public recognition. First, in 1963, the public face of the company was introduced, a clown named Ronald
McDonald; however, criticism over marketing to children and the growing negative perception of clowns
resulted in the company largely sidelining the character in the early 21st century. Perhaps the most
notable addition occurred in 1968, when McDonald’s added the Big Mac to its national menu; the iconic
hamburger went on to reportedly become the company’s top-selling item after french fries. In addition,
during the 1960s the chain refined its logo, eventually debuting the famous double-arch M design, which
became its enduring symbol and one of the most famous logos in the world; it was inspired by the tall
yellow arches that had dominated earlier McDonald’s restaurant rooftops.

McDonald's: Ronald McDonald

McDonald's: Ronald McDonald

Ronald McDonald, the mascot of McDonald's.

© Marynaanna/Dreamstime.com

These changes helped spurred McDonald’s growth. In less than 10 years after Kroc became the sole
owner of McDonald’s, the number of the chain’s outlets topped 1,000. Boosted by these numbers, the
company’s stock began trading publicly in 1965

For other uses, see Macdonald (disambiguation).

"McD" and "McDo" redirect here. For the Philippine subsidiary, see McDonald's Philippines. For other
uses, see MCD (disambiguation).

For technical reasons, "McDonald's #1 Store Museum" redirects here. For the museum, see McDonald's
No. 1 Store Museum.

McDonald's is an American fast food company, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and
Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a
hamburger stand, and later turned the company into a franchise, with the Golden Arches logo being
introduced in 1953 at a location in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1955, Ray Kroc, a businessman, joined the
company as a franchise agent and proceeded to purchase the chain from the McDonald brothers.
McDonald's had its previous headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, but moved its global headquarters to
Chicago in June 2018.[6][7][8][9]
McDonald's Corporation

Two yellow arches joined together to form a rounded letter M.

Type

Public company

Traded as

NYSE: MCD

DJIA component

S&P 100 component

S&P 500 component

ISIN

US5801351017

Industry

Restaurants

Genre

Fast food restaurant

Founded

May 15, 1940; 81 years ago in San Bernardino, California

Founders

Richard and Maurice McDonald

Ray Kroc

Headquarters

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.[1]

Number of locations

Increase 38,695 restaurants (2019)

Worldwide (119+ countries)

Key people

Enrique Hernandez Jr.[2]

(Chairman)

Chris Kempczinski

(president and CEO)

Products

Hamburgers chicken french fries soft drinks soft serves milkshakes salads desserts hotcake coffee
breakfast wraps

Revenue

Increase US$21.076 billion (2019)

Operating income

Increase US$9.070 billion (2019)

Net income

Increase US$6.025 billion (2019)

Total assets

Decrease US$32.811 billion (2018)

Total equity

Decrease −US$6.258 billion (2018)

Number of employees

Approx. 210,000 (2018 (1.9 million if franchised is included in 2015)[3])

Website

www.mcdonalds.com

corporate.mcdonalds.com

Footnotes / references
[4][5]

Corporate logo on red background with the wordmark, used in the 1990s and early 2000s

McDonald's is the world's largest restaurant chain by revenue,[10] serving over 69 million customers
daily in over 100 countries[11] across 37,855 outlets as of 2018.[12][13] Although McDonald's is best
known for its hamburgers, cheeseburgers and french fries, they feature chicken products, breakfast
items, soft drinks, milkshakes, wraps, and desserts. In response to changing consumer tastes and a
negative backlash because of the unhealthiness of their food,[14] the company has added to its menu
salads, fish, smoothies, and fruit. The McDonald's Corporation revenues come from the rent, royalties,
and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-operated restaurants. According to two
reports published in 2018, McDonald's is the world's second-largest private employer with 1.7 million
employees (behind Walmart with 2.3 million employees).[15][16] As of 2020, McDonald's has the ninth-
highest global brand valuation.[17]

The oldest McDonald's restaurant is a drive-up hamburger stand at 10207 Lakewood Boulevard at
Florence Avenue in Downey, California. It was the third McDonald's restaurant and opened on August
18, 1953. It was also the second restaurant franchised by Richard and Maurice McDonald, prior to the
involvement of Ray Kroc in the company. The restaurant is now the oldest in the chain still in existence
and is one of Downey's main tourist attractions. Along with its sign, it was deemed eligible for addition
to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, although it was not added because the owner
objected.[1]

McDonald's Restaurant #3

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

DowneyMcdonalds.jpg

The McDonald's in Downey, California is almost unchanged in appearance since it opened in 1953.

Oldest McDonald's restaurant is located in CaliforniaOldest McDonald's restaurant

Location

10207 Lakewood Blvd., Downey, California

Built

1953
Architectural style

Googie architecture

Modern architecture

NRHP reference

started a Mc Donald Franchise Business.In 1965 they changed the name of Mc Donald System Inc. to
McDonald Corporation.Over 121 countries in the world.

INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONSMcDonald’s World Wide Locations Map:

Globalisation and McDonald’s:Global expansion of the McDonald is known as McDonaldisation of the