The history of McDonald’s has many interesting twists and turns. It started as an ordinary hamburger joint, but soon evolved into the fast food chain we know today. In the early 1950s, the McDonalds brothers and Richard and Maurice McDonald opened up new outlets in the city, and quickly took over the business of others. By the early 1980s, the company was struggling to compete with its rivals and began to experiment with new ideas. They even began to offer toys to children with their meals, based on popular movies like Disney and Pixar. In the late 1980s, however, the company was experiencing its first net income decline since 1965. In 1998, the company went public, and cut thousands of jobs.
Ray Kroc
When you think about the success of McDonald’s, you likely picture a savvy salesman. But what exactly does Ray Kroc do to ensure his restaurants are a success? He leases the land that franchisees operate on. Then, he provides the operational know-how and training to those franchisees. And the best part? He keeps the costs as low as possible. In the process, he’s managed to build an empire that serves 47 million customers per day.
When Ray got involved with the company, it was nearly about to collapse. He was too young to realize that the company would grow into tens of thousands of locations around the world. But his parents were well-off at the time, and they were happy to walk away and not earn half a percent of the company’s royalty. The brothers’ success was Ray Kroc’s inspiration. As a result, he never received credit in the corporate sphere.
A few years later, he’s working as a franchisee in San Bernardino, California. He’s impressed with the business model of the McDonald brothers, who sold cheap hamburgers for a profit. In this way, he decides to invest in franchising McDonald’s. The brothers are thrilled and Ray Kroc becomes obsessed with the idea. They begin franchising McDonald’s and Ray becomes obsessed with the business.
Born in Oak Park, Illinois, Ray Kroc was one of America’s first successful businessmen. His father was a Bohemian from the village of Brasy, in Bohemia. During the First World War, he trained alongside Walt Disney and worked in the same regiment. In the midwestern United States, he worked for an American restaurant called Ray Dambaugh’s. While there, he made a connection to the McDonald brothers, who were his business partners.
After a successful career in business, Kroc’s marriages were strained. His first marriage to Ethel Fleming was over. Ethel Fleming didn’t approve of the milkshake machine business, and the couple divorced in 1961. His second marriage to Jane Dobbins Green ended in divorce. The third marriage Kroc had was with Joan Mansfield Smith, the ex-wife of Rowland Smith. The union lasted until Kroc’s death in 1984.
Richard and Maurice McDonald
Known to history as the father and son of McDonald’s, Richard and Maurice McDonald were American businessmen and entrepreneurs. Their entrepreneurial spirit is a shining example of American business success. The brothers founded McDonald’s in the early 1950s. Their company, McD’s, continues to thrive today. Their legacy continues to inspire others around the world. They are the driving force behind McDonald’s and the McDonald’s brand.
The company’s TV advertisements, however, proclaimed Dick and Maurice McDonald as its founders, while still honoring Kroc as the company’s first president. Despite the fact that Richard and Maurice McDonald never received the credit they deserved, McDonald’s senior chairman Fred Turner cited the media for giving Kroc all the credit. Unfortunately, Maurice McDonald died of a heart attack in 1971, but the company is continuing to pay tribute to their legacy.
Richard “Dick” McDonald and his brother Maurice, a former restaurateur, moved to Los Angeles in the late 1920s. Their father Patrick McDonald, who had worked as a shift manager at the G.P. Krafts shoe factory for over 40 years, was laid off. He feared that he would lose his job and have nothing to show for it. They moved to California to pursue their dreams. Soon after, they had made millions in motion pictures.
Richard and Maurice McDonald co-founded the fast food company McDonald’s in 1940. The company’s trademark logo, the speedee service system, and the ‘M’ came to be recognized as a symbol of the McDonald’s brand. The company has grown into one of the world’s largest brands. Its founders are responsible for making McDonald’s so popular, as one in eight Americans is employed by the company.
Both brothers understood their target market and the fast food industry. They knew that the drive-in model of McDonald’s attracted an undesirable clientele–the juvenile delinquents wearing blue jeans. So, they revamped the Drive-in concept to attract a family audience. By introducing a line-style system, they revolutionized the fast food industry. They also employed low-paid workers, enabling them to focus on the hamburgers.
