麥當勞應如何扭轉銷量頹勢

After months and months of depressing earnings reports, one question must be on every McDonald’s MCD -3.84% exec’s mind: How on earth can we turn things around?

面對連續數月毫無起色的收益報告，麥當勞每位高管必然都在琢磨同一個問題：究竟如何才能扭轉局勢？

Same-store sales fell 2.2 percent globally and 4.6 percent in the U.S. in November, McDonald’s reported on Monday. The chain hasn’t seen any growth sales in the U.S. for over a year.

麥當勞週一宣佈，11月份，該公司全球同店銷售額下降2.2%，美國同店銷售額下降4.6%。其美國銷售額毫無增長的局面已持續一年有餘。

How can the fast-food chain pull itself out of the rapidly deepening rut? Here are four possible ways to turn things around.

這位快餐連鎖巨頭怎樣才能擺脫正加速惡化的局面？以下是四種扭轉頹勢的可行的方法。

Go fast-casual.As the fast-casual business increasingly cuts into the market for fast food, it may be time for McDonald’s to try and ditch its cheap but low-quality reputation.

轉向快速休閒餐飲。鑑於快速休閒餐廳對快餐店市場份額的不斷侵蝕，麥當勞或許應該嘗試改變其低價低質的形象。

It seems the chain may be heading that way. “Today’s consumers increasingly demand more choice, convenience and value in their dining-out experience,” McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson said in a statement.

麥當勞似乎也正在朝這個方向發展。首席執行官唐o湯普森在一份聲明中稱：“現在的趨勢是，消費者在用餐時要求有更多選擇、更便利，並獲取更多的價值。”

At least some McDonald’s locations are focusing on boosting the choice aspect, with a customizable menu that offers more options – and pricier burgers. McDonald’s “Create Your Taste” test platform is now expanding from four California stores to 30 locations in five more states, reports USA Today. By 2015, 2,000 U.S. locations will offer the menu platform, which allows customers to order more high-end burgers with toppings like eggs, smoked bacon and grilled mushrooms via tablet-like kiosks. The higher-quality burgers cost substantially more, with a customer burger with a drink and fries coming in at around $8.29, according to USA Today.

至少，麥當勞的一些門店正專注於增加菜單種類，推出可訂製菜單，讓顧客擁有更多的選擇，以及價格更高的漢堡。據《今日美國》（USA Today）報道，麥當勞已着手將之前在加州4家門店開展的“自選口味”（Create Your Taste）試運行項目擴展到另外五個州的30家門店。到2015年，美國將有2000家門店推出“自選口味”服務，顧客可以通過觸屏點餐檯選擇更多種類的高端漢堡，可以加雞蛋、燻肉、烤蘑菇等食材。《今日美國》還稱，優質漢堡的價格也更高。漢堡加上飲料和薯條，售價約8.29美元（約合人民幣51元）。

The option is additionally expanding nationally in Australia, where the platform has also been widely tested. Incidentally, Australia was the only bright spot in McDonald’s Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) same-store sales, which dropped 4 percent despite Australia’s positive performance.

此前，麥當勞也曾在澳大利亞廣泛試運行這項服務，公司計劃將該服務在澳大利亞全國推廣。無獨有偶，澳大利亞是麥當勞在亞太、中東和非洲區的唯一亮點。儘管澳大利亞的業績良好，但這一區域的同店銷售額下跌了4%。

Serve more chicken.With the expansion of the “Create Your Taste” platform, McDonald’s is adding a second meat to the menu: Chicken. Now customers will be able to build their own chicken sandwiches at the kiosks.

推出更多雞肉食品。麥當勞在“自選口味”的菜單上，增加了第二種肉：雞肉。現在顧客可以通過觸屏點餐檯自行“製作”雞肉三明治。

Chicken was the surprise MVP of the quick service industry in 2014, with chicken chains like Chick-fil-A and Bojangles thriving and restaurants across the industry adding more chicken to the menu. Servings of breaded chicken sandwiches have grown an average of 3 percent over the last four years.

雞肉是2014年快餐業出人意料的明星產品。美國雞肉快餐服務連鎖店福來雞（Chick-fil-A）和伯強格斯（Bojangles）發展迅猛，並且，整個快餐行業的餐廳都在增加雞肉菜品數量。過去4年裏，雞肉三明治銷量的年均增速達到了3%。

Chicken is seen as a healthier option than burgers, whether or not the sandwiches actually have a higher calorie count, helping the trendy fowl to fit in with the fast-casual trend. Additionally, with increased beef and pork prices, chicken is an economically sound options for restaurants interested in expanding their menu. Maybe it’s time for the biggest burger chain in the world to downplay the hamburger and focus on chicken instead.

我們暫且不論三明治的卡路里含量是否真的更高，但雞肉被視爲一種比漢堡更健康的選擇，而這也讓備受歡迎的雞肉與快速休閒趨勢一拍即合。此外，隨着牛肉和豬肉價格的上漲，對於希望爲顧客提供更多菜品的餐廳來說，雞肉在成本上十分划算。對於麥當勞這家世界上最大的漢堡連鎖企業來說，弱化漢堡地位、轉而專注雞肉的時代或已來臨。

Simplify the menu.While the “Create Your Taste” menu sounds awesome in theory, it seems to run counter one of McDonald’s plans: simplifying the overstuffed menu.

簡化菜單。“自選口味”服務的菜單在理論上聽起來很棒，但似乎與麥當勞的一個計劃背道而馳，即簡化“擁擠”的菜單。

McDonald’s maintains that to restore momentum in the U.S., it is “diligently working” to simplify the menu. However, in an October survey, the vast majority of franchisees stated that McDonald’s had failed so far to fulfill its promise to streamline the menu, something that has been on the company’s to-do list for about a year.

麥當勞稱，爲重振美國業績，公司正在“努力工作”，以簡化菜單。然而，在10月份開展的一項調查中，大多數加盟店稱麥當勞沒能實現簡化菜單的承諾。麥當勞已將簡化菜單列入公司任務清單大概一年時間了。

Regain China’s trust.McDonald’s U.S. same-store sales slump is disturbing for the chain in large part because there is no one problem the brand can focus on. At least in Asia, McDonald’s knows what the issue is.

重獲中國消費者的信任。麥當勞美國的同店銷售額下滑之所以令人擔憂，其中很大一部分原因在於，公司並不知道都有哪些問題需要重點解決。但在亞洲，至少麥當勞知道問題出在哪兒。

The scandal surrounding a McDonald’s supplier selling expired meat has continued to damage McDonald’s performance in Japan and China. Currently, the chain hopes to fix the problem by leveraging menu options and deals, but ultimately the only fix is to wait it out.

一家供應商銷售過期肉的醜聞，還在持續損害麥當勞在日本和中國的業績。當前，麥當勞希望通過改良菜單和優惠方案來解決問題，但最終，唯一的解決方法就是等待。

Yum Brands, who was also affected by the meat supplier scandal, estimated in October that recovery in the region would take at least six to nine months. So, internationally at least, it’s a waiting game for McDonald’s.

百勝餐飲集團（Yum Brands）同樣受到了這起肉類供應商醜聞的影響。10月份，百勝估計，該區域業績的恢復需要至少6到9個月的時間。所以，至少在國際層面上，麥當勞面臨的是一場等待遊戲。