McDonald's eyes the McRib for December
The annual sandwich, which has a loyal fan base, usually appears on the chain's menus in October. This time, however, the company may delay the debut to juice holiday business.
McDonald's (MCD) is delaying the debut of the meaty treat this year to bump up its December sales numbers, according to a memo obtained by Advertising Age. Normally, McDonald's starts selling the sandwich in a short window from October to early November.
The company was originally scheduled to fire up the McRib marketing from Oct. 22 through Nov. 11, according to a memo to a national advertising fund for McDonald's operators, Ad Age reports.
The McRib is a big deal to some McDonald's fans. And the company hopes that by turning the McRib spotlight to December, it will be able to reproduce the stellar sales numbers it hit in December 2011.
The weather last December was unseasonably mild, which helped McDonald's boost its sales 9.8%, Ad Age reports. McDonald's is under pressure to beat its numbers, particularly after a year in which sales have been sluggish in many parts of the world. McDonald's wouldn't comment on its plans to Ad Age.
McDonald's shares topped $101 in the early part of the year but have since plunged 9% to $91.97 Monday.
"There must be great concern at McDonald's home office over winter-sales challenges, because it's very unusual to make changes to the marketing plan only a few months before the fourth quarter, the most important quarter on the calendar," restaurant consultant Richard Adams told Ad Age.
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