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Further implications
Despite their market dominance, the leading fast food restaurant, McDonald's has experienced a sales decline. In February, 2015, the company announced a comparable global fall in sales of 1.7 percent. In the Asia Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa, sales decreased by 4.4 per cent during February 2015 and in the United States sales were down 4 per cent.
McDonald's has claimed that its current performance reflects the 'urgent need to evolve with today's consumers, reset strategic priorities and restore business momentum'. The Company believes that consumer preferences have changed, and that its goal should be to make McDonald's a 'true destination of choice around the world and reassert McDonald's as a modern, progressive burger company'.
KFC has experienced similar problems and its response has also been similar. For both companies, diversification to meet the range of customer preferences appears to be the name of the game.
It has been claimed that over time it is likely that the big fast food outlets will not simply create a greater range of offerings within their standard outlets. They will also establish what are currently referred to as concept stores. These may continue to carry the company's primary logo, as is the case with the KFC eatery in Parramatta. Equally, differentiation may include rebranding the outlet so that it is no longer obviously part of the parent franchise. This is what has occurred with McDonald's eatery, The Corner, in Camperdown, which does not carry McDonald's name or logo. These new outlets will cater for a tightly designated, usually young adult, market and will reduce the difference between fast food outlets and fast-casual eateries.
In terms of the sale of alcohol, it is likely there would be less concern if alcohol were sold in outlets that did not carry the name of multinational companies, such as KFC and McDonalds, already associated with the sale of food to children and teenagers.
However, the impact of selling alcohol through the more 'adult' fast-casual outlets has yet to be determined. Moves in Sydney and Melbourne to diversify the type of venue where alcohol can be consumed are intended to encourage more moderate drinking and dining at licensed cafes and eateries. Such initiatives may mean that licensed fast-casual restaurants come to be seen as a desirable development.