Business
Published January 5, 2024, 1:34 PM ET
McDonald's top executive said “misinformation” about the company's position on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war has hurt sales in the Middle East and Muslim countries worldwide.
McDonald's President and CEO Chris Kempczinski acknowledged Thursday that “several markets in the Middle East and some outside the region are experiencing significant business impacts due to the war and related misinformation impacting brands like McDonald's.”
As calls for a boycott against the US fast food giant grew louder, Kempczinski wrote in a LinkedIn post that he found the development “disheartening and unfounded.”
“In every country we operate in, including Muslim countries, McDonald's is proudly represented by local owners who work tirelessly to serve and support their communities while employing thousands of their fellow citizens.”
In the days following the October 7 Hamas attack, a group of protesters in Lebanon lost the “local owner-operator” designation when they raided a local McDonald's restaurant after McDonald's franchises in Israel said they were serving Israeli soldiers Provide free meals to those participating in military operations in Gaza.
McDonald's said sales fell in the Middle East and Muslim countries due to calls to boycott the company. NurPhoto via Getty Images
McDonald's Israel announced on its social media accounts that it had given thousands of free meals to Israel Defense Forces soldiers.
The Israeli franchisee's efforts were later abandoned by McDonald's franchises in some Muslim countries, highlighting the polarized regional politics that global corporations navigated during the war.
Kempczinski did not specify to what extent the company suffered financial losses due to boycotts.
His LinkedIn post echoes comments recently made by Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan, who said that people protesting the company over its stance on the Israel-Hamas war are “through misrepresentations on social media” about it influenced what the Seattle-based coffee chain stands for.
McDonald's CEO blamed “misinformation” about the company's stance on the Israel-Hamas war. Getty Images
A Turkish television station recently fired a news anchor after she appeared on-air with a cup of Starbucks coffee – a sign that critics charge was tantamount to a show of support for Israel.
Boycotts of Starbucks in the weeks after war broke out in the Middle East cost the company up to $12 billion in value.
In the third quarter of its last fiscal year, McDonald's reported an 8.3% increase in sales in international markets, but that was before the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists that left 1,200 Israelis dead.
McDonald's is expected to report fourth-quarter results later this month.
Shares of McDonald's were trading 1.3% lower as of midday Friday.
In fiscal year 2022, the company franchised and operated approximately 40,275 McDonald's restaurants in more than 100 countries.
Chris Kempczinski, president and CEO of McDonald's, decried the “baseless” claims about his company. AP Starbucks faces boycotts over war in the Middle East. Portal
The fast food chain reported full-year sales of $23.18 billion this year.
McDonald's Malaysia has sued a movement promoting boycotts against Israel over “false and defamatory statements” that it says damaged its business, seeking $1.31 million in damages.
Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country, is a staunch supporter of the Palestinians, and some Western fast food brands in the country, as in some other Muslim countries, have been the target of boycott campaigns over Israel's military offensive in Gaza.
Gerbang Alaf Restaurants Sdn Bhd (GAR), the licensee of McDonald's in Malaysia, is suing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) Malaysia over a series of social media posts allegedly linking the fast food franchise to other companies get in touch. on Israel’s “genocidal war against the Palestinians in Gaza.”
In response, BDS Malaysia said it “categorically rejects” the defamation of the fast food company and will leave the matter to the court.
With post wires
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