When sales slump at McDonald’s Japan, fry, fry again

Regulars of Mickey D’s may debate the merits of the Filet-O-Fish or the McRib, but there isn’t much disagreement that McDonald’s fries are a crispy, salty delight of a guilty pleasure.

At a time when Japan’s competitive fast food industry is feeling the pinch from the growing menus at convenience stores, burger chains often resort to attention-grabbing offerings such as Wendy’s Foie Gras Rossini burger, Lotteria’s Tower Cheeseburger, and Burger King’s Windows 7 burger, which packs in 7 patties. There’s even McDonald’s own Gracoro Burger, which contains a deep-fried patty made from macaroni, shrimp and white sauce.

Now, McDonald’s Japan is letting French Fries play center stage.

Late last month, McDonald’s Japan began sales of the ‘Mega Potato,’ a helping twice the size of regular large sized fries. The heaping package of fries clocks in at a heart-stopping 1142 calories – or more calories than two Big Macs, which contain 557 calories each. The giant package of fries costs 490 yen ($4.89) versus around 300 yen for the standard large-sized serving. According to a company spokesman, sales of the Mega Potato are going according to plan.

In another campaign aimed at boosting fry consumption, McDonald’s Japan gave away red and yellow plastic French Fries holders for cars – an elegant solution for that age-old problem of digging (optimistically) into that McDonald’s bag for that last, loose, run-away fry.

This is part of a campaign by McDonald’s Japan to establish its “core” menu in the consciousness of Japanese consumers, while continuing to introduce new items. It’s a challenge in country where, according to the company’s executives, staples like the Big Mac are often overlooked for the next new burger.

“Fries are a core product for McDonald’s and we wanted customers to revisit their deliciousness,” said Kokoro Toyama, a PR representative at the company.

McDonald’s Japan is hoping that a love of fries can bring customers back to the Golden Arches. In the first quarter of 2013, the fast food restaurant company’s revenues went down by 14.6% year on year, while its operating profits fell by 53.3%. The weakening of the yen has also been raising the cost of imports, on top of a rise in prices of beef and chicken.

“The environment is getting more competitive,” said Ro Imamura, an executive from McDonald’s Japan at the company’s corporate earnings press conference last month. Mr. Imamura acknowledged the rise in popularity of convenience stores and other fast food outlets such as Yoshinoya – which recently cut prices for their signature bowls of beef.

In a Japan suffering from two decades of stagnant growth, a new trend called “chushoku”– the practice of buying outside and eating at home — has been emerging as an alternative to “gaishoku” – or dining out. The convenience stores’ diverse product line-up has been helpful in pushing along this trend.