Inflation and fast food

[LibForestPaul]

Should (when) double digit inflation hits, how will fast food restaurants be affected. I see McDonalds, with it purchasing power and efficiencies actually doing rather well, not to mention its global presence. Burger King is distant 4th?, global presence is weak, efficiencies also seem weak (McDonalds, from what I have read, constantly is trying to reduce time, reduce reliance on labor). KFC, Carls, Wendys...distant runner-ups.

People will be forced with higher electricity, higher natural gas, higher food prices, to find cheap.

[MelissaWV]

McDonald's isn't tops anymore. Subway is.

McDonald's has been very crafty, though. Their food has never been great, but they have a huge brand, and they will always have cheap things and "good" things on the menu. The average price of their "meals" has climbed steadily, though the majority of their ingredients haven't gone up in price as far as they're concerned. McDonald's mostly supplies itself. It doesn't rely on the corner grocer, or even the farmer down the street.

I expect Taco Bell to continue to do fairly well, too. They're never going to be the greatest in their field, but they have a niche.

Unless someone buys BK and fixes it, I can picture a day fairly soon when they go away entirely.

[low preference guy]

McDonald's isn't tops anymore. Subway is.

Subway is supposed to be healthy, but you have to try really hard to get something without HFCS. The chicken dressing has it, the mayonnaise has it, so there are better fast food places for sandwiches than Subway.

[MelissaWV]

Subway is supposed to be healthy, but you have to try really hard to get something without HFCS. The chicken dressing has it, the mayonnaise has it, so there are better fast food places for sandwiches than Subway.

lol I didn't mean it from a personal standpoint.


NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Move over, Mickey D's, and bring Ronald McDonald with you -- there's a new fast food king in town.

Subway has surpassed McDonald's to become the world's largest restaurant chain in terms of units, the sandwich company confirmed Monday.

Subway had 33,749 restaurants around the globe at the end of 2010, said company spokesman Les Winograd. McDonald's had 32,737 at year end, according to a February regulatory filing from the burger giant.

[Theocrat]

[deleted post]

[Michael P]

If your trying to make money and deciding between mcd's and Subway invest in McD's

[cubical]

Subway is supposed to be healthy, but you have to try really hard to get something without HFCS. The chicken dressing has it, the mayonnaise has it, so there are better fast food places for sandwiches than Subway.

Still far better than the absolute crap you are ingesting at McDonald's. Though the meats at subway must be far from high quality because running the $5 footlong deals must not leave a lot of room for profits.

[low preference guy]

Still far better than the absolute crap you are ingesting at McDonald's.

I haven't been there for so long....

[heavenlyboy34]

I would imagine that people will go back to buying and cooking food the old fashioned way. Especially since people can't buy fast food with food stamps.

[Stary Hickory]

Inflation will probably bring about a combination of price hikes and lower quality. Lowering the quantity and quality of a product is a way to fool people into thinking you are not raising your prices as much as you really are.

[acptulsa]

Hm. McDonald's, the place where working stiffs go for lunch because it's quick meat, is slipping. This makes sense, as the working stiffs aren't working and are just stiffs--who have time to cook. Subway, the place where the white collars go when they're pinched, is doing well. Which makes me assume TGIF isn't.

[VBRonPaulFan]

I think sit down type restaurants would take the biggest hit by far. I imagine that slowly and steadily all of the fast food chains will raise their prices and post signs says "sorry for the inconvenience, but because of rising food costs, we've had to raise prices".

You'll also see reduction in portions for the same cost, although that will likely come first. The dollar menu's have all but disappeared from most places, and the places that have them you get a sandwich half the size that you did 10 years ago. It'll be the same process as the last 10 years, just much accelerated.

[moostraks]

In my former life when we were much more on the go we utilized fast food services like much of middle America does for convenience meals when time is of the essence. The portions are becoming pathetic and the prices are such that if it weren't for the sake of speed, they would be driven out of business by restaurants esp. buffet style family ones. There is nothing more chapping then spending almost $6 dollars on fries, pop, and a measly greasy burger and that is one of their cheaper meals in most areas.

The McDonalds billboard outside is advertising a $4 sandwich, really? For the service and atmosphere I think not. They are getting into the realm of Arby's prices and shrinking sizes without quality improvement. The customer base for McDonalds is broke and will not be able to sustain these ridiculous price increases so they need to find a new base and I think that is why they went for the coffee crowd but I don't think that has been popular enough to fill the gap...

[LibForestPaul]

I would imagine that people will go back to buying and cooking food the old fashioned way. Especially since people can't buy fast food with food stamps.

From my trips to second world country, does not seem that way. Went to McD's oversees, nothing but locals (thought it would be quick since it s/b only tourists).. why? cheap and quick... I suppose if unemployment is high and not just stagflation...people might have time to cook...soups and chowders?

[awake]

Mises once said that the household grocery shopper can gather the best scientific inflation data; they can see it on a week by week or bi weekly time frame before their very eyes.

The packages will shrink to keep the prices at bay, and when they can not hold the prices any longer they will rise. The manufactures will be blamed, the middle east, the weather, the planets, global warming, and every other plausible excuse under the sun. But, don't ever forget who's actually doing this behind the green curtain of OZ. The all powerful Ben and his magical cartel of counterfeiters.

An appeal to god; End the Fed.

[DamianTV]

Say Goodbye to the Dollar Menu, forever.

[MelissaWV]

Say Goodbye to the Dollar Menu, forever.

Doubtful. The menus at these fast food places are becoming as split as the masses. There will always be dollar menu stuff (note they usually don't have expensive veggies, and cheese is often extra, and the meat is the lowest quality, thinnest version they have, and so on). There are also increasingly "gourmet" versions of things on the menus. I use that word loosely, but consider a chicken breast with ranch dressing, bacon, lettuce, and tomato on a wheat bun... versus the McChicken. The "better" menu items are going up, up, up in price (and down in size). The Dollar Menu stuff is going to stick around and become worse and worse for you.