July 25--McDonald's plans to open more than 100 restaurants along the autobahn, a German expressway, during the next four years, the company announced this week.
The Oak Brook-based burger giant announced disappointing second-quarter earnings Thursday, including continued declines in both sales and profit. On the bright side, CEO Steve Easterbrook projected positive global sales for the third quarter, driven largely by growth in "international lead market" countries such as Germany.
McDonald's is partnering with the German service station company Tank Rast, which will house the new restaurants at gas stations along the autobahn, according to a news release. Some will open this year but the majority of openings will occur between 2016 and 2019.
Easterbrook called the deal "a fantastic agreement" for the company on Thursday's earnings call.
"To have roadside presence in up to 100 sites effectively (with) no capital from our perspective -- that's what happens when a brand in a market gets its mojo back," Easterbrook said. "You start to attract this sort of partners we want to be doing business with."
Globally, second-quarter sales in restaurants open at least 13 months, also known as same-store sales, fell 0.7 percent from the same period a year ago, slightly worse than what analysts projected. But Germany saw its first quarter of positive same-store sales since the second quarter of 2012.
In the U.S., though, McDonald's is still searching for its mojo: Same-store sales in the second quarter dropped 2 percent.
Easterbrook called the U.S. market "a bit of a drag" Thursday, but said the company was hoping for growth before the end of the year.
gtrotter@tribpub.com
