雅思阅读HowaFrenchmanisrevivingMcDonaldsinEurope

1、How a Frenchman is reviving McDonalds in EuropeA.When Denis Hennequin took over as the European boss of McDonalds in January ,the worlds biggest restaurant chain was showing signs of recovery in America andAustralia, but sales in Europe were sluggish or declining. One exception was France,where Mr Hennequin had done a sterling job as head of the groups French subsidiary tosell more Big Macs to his compatriots. His task was to replicate this success in all 41 ofthe European countries where anti-g

2、lobalisers favourite enemy operates.B.So far Mr Hennequin is doing well. Last year European sales increased by 5.8% and thenumber of customers by 3.4%, the best annual results in nearly 15 years. Europeaccounted for 36% of the groups profits and for 28% of its sales. December was anespecially good month as customers took to seasonal menu offerings in France andBritain, and to a promotion in Germany based on the game of Monopoly.CMr Hennequins recipe for revival is to be more open about his compa

3、nys operations, tobe “locally relevant”, and to improve the experience of visiting his 6,400 restaurants.McDonalds is blamed for making people fat, exploiting workers, treating animals cruelly,polluting the environment and simply for being American. Mr Hennequin says he wants toengage in a dialogue with the public to address these concerns.D.He introduced “open door” visitor days in each country which became hugely popular. InPoland alone some 50,000 visitors came to McDonalds through the visito

4、rs programmelast year. The Nutrition Information Initiative, launched last year, put detailed labels onMcDonalds packaging with data on calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates and salt content.The details are also printed on tray-liners.E.Mr Hennequin also wants people to know that “McJobs”, the low-paid menial jobs atMcDonalds restaurants, are much better than people think. But some of his efforts havebackfired: last year he sparked a controversy with the introduction of a “McPassport” thatallows

5、 McDonalds employees to work anywhere in the European Union. Politiciansaccused the firm of a ploy to make cheap labour from eastern Europe more easilyavailable to McDonalds managers across the continent.F.To stay in touch with local needs and preferences, McDonalds employs local bosses asmuch as possible. A Russian is running McDonalds in Russia, though a Serb is in chargeof Germany. The group buys mainly from local suppliers. Four-fifths of its supplies inFrance come from local farmers, for ex

6、ample. (Some of the French farmers whocampaigned against the company in the late 1990s subsequently discovered that it was,in fact, buying their produce.) And it hires celebrities such as Heidi Klum, a German model,as local brand ambassadors.G.In his previous job Mr Hennequin established a “design studio” in France to spruce up hiscompanys drab restaurants and adapt the interior to local tastes. The studio is nowmasterminding improvements everywhere in Europe. He also set up a “food studio”,wher

7、e cooks devise new recipes in response to local trends.H.Given Frances reputation as the most anti-American country in Europe, it seems odd thatMcDonalds revival in Europe is being led by a Frenchman, using ideas cooked up in theFrench market. But France is in fact the companys most profitable market after America.The market where McDonalds is weakest in Europe is not France, but Britain.I.“Fixing Britain should be his priority,” says David Palmer, a restaurant analyst at UBS.Almost two-thirds o

8、f the 1,214 McDonalds restaurants in Britain are company-owned,compared with 40% in Europe and 15% in America. The company suffers from thevolatility of sales at its own restaurants, but can rely on steady income from franchisees.So it should sell as many underperforming outlets as possible, says Mr Palmer.J.M.Mark Wiltamuth, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, estimates that Europeancompany-owned restaurants margins will increase slightly to 16.4% in . This is stillless than in the late 1990s and bel

9、ow Americas 18-19% today. But it is much better thanbefore Mr Hennequins reign. He is already being tipped as the first European candidatefor the groups top job in Illinois. Nobody would call that a McJob.Questions 1-6Do the following statements reflect the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 1?Write your answer in Boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.TRUE if the statement reflects the claims of the writerFALSE if the statement contradicts the claims of the writerNOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this1. McDonald was showing the sign of recovery in all European countries except Franceafter Denis Hennequin took office as the boss of Euro-markets.2. Starting from last year, detailed labels are put on McDonalds packaging and detailedinformation is also printed on tray-liners.3. France is sai

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