McDonald's franchisees say in survey that Chick-fil-A is the biggest chain holding them back from wi
- Chick-fil-A is prevailing when it comes to growth and customer service, to the point where it's become the stuff of McDonald's franchisees' nightmares.
- Kalinowski Equity Research interviewed 20 to 30 McDonald's franchise owners across the United States. McDonald's currently has around 2,000 franchisees in the US.
- Kalinowski's survey found that 89% of respondents said that Chick-fil-A was causing the chain to lose "the most chicken market share."
- The McDonald's National Owners Association, a franchisee organization, has pushed the chain to introduce a rival to the chicken sandwiches offered at Chick-fil-A and Popeyes.
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McDonald's franchisees have a new bogeyman, and it takes the form of a red "C" stylized to look like a chicken named "Doodles."
A new report from restaurant-focused Kalinowski Equity Research found that McDonald's franchisees largely believe Chick-fil-A is dominating the chicken sandwich wars. The research firm's survey asked 20 to 30 McDonald's franchise owners from around the United States — McDonald's has around 2,000 franchisees in the country — to name the rival concept that is causing McDonald's to lose "the most chicken market share."
A total 89% of McDonald's franchisees who participated in the survey named Chick-fil-A, while 11% selected Popeyes. No other competitors were even mentioned in the responses.
Some of the anonymous franchisees provided comments and observations in the survey regarding the struggle between McDonald's and Chick-fil-A. Responses seemed to indicate a view that Chick-fil-A's success was a barometer for far more than the tide of the battle over chicken sandwiches.
"Chick-fil-A also beats us on service," one franchisee told Kalinowski Equity Research, in a quote printed in a January 23 note that upgraded McDonald's from a "hold" to a "buy." "They run a lot of people on the floor. We cannot get them or afford them."
Another franchise owner elaborated that McDonald's can't compete with its chicken-focused competitor on a QSC (or "quality service cleanliness") basis because "Chick-fil-A is sticking with their one restaurant per franchisee program."
"Chick-fil-A's competitive advantage goes far beyond their core sandwiches," a third franchisee said.
Yet another franchise owner said that while McDonald's ought to "work on improving our chicken products," they viewed the chicken sandwich wars as a distraction that could "take us off to the wilderness." That runs counter to sentiments expressed in recently leaked emails in which the McDonald's National Owners Association pushed corporate to whip up a tasty contender in the chicken sandwich wars.
For its part, Kalinowski Equity Research has declared Chick-fil-A both "the largest competitive threat" to McDonald's and the third largest restaurant chain in the United States by system-wide sales. What's more, the research firm's note says that there's still plenty of room for the chicken sandwich chain to grow in the Midwest and Northeast.
"The real question is, can we compete with Chick-fil-A?" one McDonald's franchise owner asked in the Kalinowski Equity Research survey. "I don't think so."
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Watch: It'll cost you nearly nothing to open a Chick-fil-A — but there's a catch
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