OAK BROOK, Ill. -- McDonald’s Corp. said its restaurants will start selling all-day breakfast across the United States on October 6, fulfilling a longstanding customer request.
The company’s franchisees have voted to approve the plan, and it is being implemented nationwide, McDonald’s spokesperson Lisa McComb told Bloomberg. The move--the company’s biggest menu change in years--follows months of testing the idea at selected locations.
In July, CEO Steve Easterbrook said the all-day breakfast trials were going well, fueling speculation that a national rollout was near.
Easterbrook, who took over in March, has been trying to pull the company out of its worst sales slump in more than a decade. Selling its signature Egg McMuffin sandwich all day could increase sales by as much as 2.5% a year, according to an internal company presentation.
Under the plan approved by franchisees, the full morning lineup will not be available all day. Restaurants will sell either muffin- or biscuit-based sandwiches, along with hot cakes, sausage burritos, fruit-and-yogurt parfaits, oatmeal and hash browns. McDonald’s may get rid of other items to make room for breakfast, McComb said.
“Our rest-of-day core menu items will stay intact, such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, McNuggets, fries, etc.,” she said. “But regions can determine what items need removing based on local customer preferences.”
Franchisees own about 90% of the company’s approximately 14,350 domestic restaurants.
The move may help McDonald’s better compete with chains that already sell morning items throughout the day. Dunkin’ Donuts serves its breakfast sandwiches, as well as egg wraps and bagels, beyond the morning. And Starbucks Corp. offers muffins and scones at all hours.
Daniel Delligatti, the Oak Brook, Ill., chain’s national advertising fund chairman, told franchisees last month that the company was planning a marketing push to promote the move.
“Based on preliminary test results, all-day breakfast is a significant business opportunity and a marketer’s dream that leverages our strengths and will generate positive media news and social media energy,” he told the news agency.
McDonald's has made no formal press announcement about the move; it has launched a social media blitz, primarily on Twitter, under the hashtag (hashbrowntag?) #AllDayBreakfast
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