Glocalization (say what?) | Sojourners

Glocalization (say what?)

McDonald's 29,000 restaurants in 120 countries make it the largest fast food franchise in the $112 billion-a-year industry. "Glocalization" is when a global corporate giant attempts to appear like a locally owned business. Here are a few things to ponder with your fries.

  • Astérix (the Gallic comic hero who fought Roman occupiers) is replacing Ronald McDonald as McDonald's new French mascot.

  • McDonald's is selling its Aroma coffee bars for half the original cost because it no longer fits its "meal-occasion strategy."

  • No two countries with McDonald's franchises have ever gone to war.

  • Houston's Brentwood Baptist is the first church in the nation to have a McDonald's franchise on its grounds.

  • A British McDonald's ad claims there are 40,312 possible purchase combinations of its eight products. (You do the math.)

Sources: The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Fast Food Nation, BBC, The Guardian, www.blackenterprise.com.

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Sojourners Magazine May-June 2002
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