麦当劳问题频出 内外交困四面受挫

McDonald`s Corp CEO Don Thompson, the head of the world`s biggest restaurant chain, who for much of his two years at the helm has been battling to spark sales growth in the United States and Europe, got battered by headline-grabbing bad news in late July.

作为全球最大的跨国连锁餐厅麦当劳的首席执行官，唐•汤普森上任两年来一直在为提升麦当劳在美国与欧洲的销售业绩而不懈努力，而今年七月末他却因各种备受关注的丑闻头条“四处受挫”。

In the final days of the month, its China business was hit with a food-safety scare involving a key supplier; the chain got ensnared in the West`s sanctions standoff with Russia; burger flippers at U.S. restaurants claimed an incremental win from the National Labor Relations Board in their fight to hold McDonald`s responsible for the actions of franchisees; and, a Texas jury slapped the company with a $27 million verdict. Add to all that its results showed second-quarter profit dropped more than expected.

7月末，麦当劳中国业务首先因主要供应商曝出食品安全问题而受到影响；随后，因俄美关系紧张，麦当劳成为俄罗斯反制裁目标；同时，美国餐厅麦当劳员工取得胜利，美国国家劳资关系委员会认定，如果存在侵犯雇员权利的行为，可以寻求追究麦当劳、而不仅是具体麦当劳餐厅的责任。；紧接着，麦当劳德克萨斯一家餐厅造成顾客伤亡，麦当劳被判决赔偿2700万美元。这一切最终导致今年第二季度，麦当劳的利润跌幅高于市场预期。

McDonald`s was caught up in the latest China food safety scare after a July 20 television expose showed workers allegedly mishandling meat at Shanghai Husi Food Co Ltd, a factory owned by OSI Group LLC, a major supplier to the chain.

7月20日，麦当劳首先卷入中国食品安全丑闻，电视媒体曝出其主要供应商OSI集团旗下的上海福喜食品有限公司工人承认使用过期、劣质原料加工生产肉制品。

When the story broke, McDonald`s China business had been rebounding from the double whammy of a food safety scare and a bird flu outbreak that crushed sales in 2013.

此时，麦当劳在中国的业务才刚刚从2013年的食品安全问题与禽流感的双重打击下恢复元气。

McDonald`s roughly 2,000 restaurants in China suffered meat shortages after it ended its relationship with OSI China.

而随着与OSI（中国）终止供应关系，麦当劳在中国的大约2000多家餐厅都面临肉类供应短缺的问题。

"They`re under siege on three continents," said Howard Penney, restaurant analyst at Hedgeye Risk Management, an investment research firm.

来自从事投资研究的对冲基金风险管理公司的餐饮行业分析师霍华德•彭尼称：“麦当劳在三块大陆上受困。”

To be sure, the company`s famous name and the ubiquity of its restaurants worldwide help to fuel the media storm, said Penney: "McDonald`s is a pawn in many instances around the world. It`s an easy target."

毋庸置疑，麦当劳极高的知名度以及遍布世界各地的分店是引发媒体高度关注的主要原因，彭尼说：“在全球很多事件中，麦当劳都‘中枪’，因为它很容易成为目标。”

Such upheavals are not uncommon for McDonald`s and other global power houses, including Coca-Cola Co and Wal-Mart Stores Inc, experts said, though perhaps not quite so many in such a short period.

在一些专家看来，可口可乐、沃尔玛等跨国企业也会遇到类似麻烦，只是麦当劳所遭遇的负面资讯集中在相对较短的时间内。

Investors, analysts and franchisees are clamoring for the company to stop trying to be "all things to all people". They want it to simplify its unwieldy menu and point to the success of rivals, which have won passionate fans by selling just a few items.

一些投资者、分析师和门店认为认为，麦当劳应该停止尝试迎合所有消费者的口味，为菜单“瘦身”，仿效一些竞争对手的做法，用特色产品吸引“死忠”消费者。