????麥當(dāng)勞（McDonald's）眼下似乎遇到了身份危機(jī)。

????周二，這個(gè)漢堡巨頭宣布2014年前三個(gè)月的利潤(rùn)下降了5.2%，美國(guó)同店銷售額減少了1.7%。總裁兼CEO唐?湯普森強(qiáng)調(diào)，麥當(dāng)勞將專注于自己的核心產(chǎn)品，如巨無(wú)霸（Big Mac）、蛋麥滿分（Egg McMuffin）和它著名的炸薯?xiàng)l。

????湯普森回歸本原的表態(tài)是為了應(yīng)對(duì)麥當(dāng)勞在2013年經(jīng)歷的菜品種類大泛濫。去年，麥當(dāng)勞走馬燈似的推出了各種限時(shí)菜單，比如麥辣雞翅（Mighty Wings）、牛肉雞蛋玉米卷餅、牛肉早餐三明治、新款足尊牛堡、烤洋蔥切達(dá)奶酪漢堡、辣味麥香雞（McChicken），還有一款所有餐廳從一開始就質(zhì)疑的產(chǎn)品：魚米花（Fish McBites）。此外，麥當(dāng)勞在2006年還推出了快餐卷（Snack Wrap），2009年推出了咖啡飲料麥咖啡（McCafe），2010年又推出了鮮果奶昔和冰咖啡（McCafé Frappés）。

????然而，這些特別促銷和創(chuàng)新并沒有產(chǎn)生太好的效果。去年，麥當(dāng)勞美國(guó)同店銷售額下滑了0.2%，麥當(dāng)勞首席運(yùn)營(yíng)官方振宇今年1月份承認(rèn)，公司“新產(chǎn)品太多、推出頻率太快，太多新產(chǎn)品帶來(lái)了更多復(fù)雜性，導(dǎo)致我們（在2013年）的發(fā)展并不順利。”

????周二，湯普森表示，麥當(dāng)勞的“核心產(chǎn)品是客戶最熟悉、最喜愛的產(chǎn)品。它們真正代表了麥當(dāng)勞，約占總銷售額的40%，是我們不可替代的商業(yè)資產(chǎn)，需要持續(xù)的宣傳推廣。”

????但麥當(dāng)勞還有另外一面。去年9月份，麥當(dāng)勞宣布與克林頓基金會(huì)（Clinton Foundatino）合作，推出低脂、低鹽、低糖的食物。比如插在棍子上的獼猴桃，大家想品嘗一下嗎？這項(xiàng)計(jì)劃的目的是吸引注重健康的千禧一代，帕納拉面包（Panera Bread）和墨西哥風(fēng)味快餐店Chipotle等新興品牌很受千禧一代歡迎。當(dāng)時(shí)，湯普森曾表示，麥當(dāng)勞希望優(yōu)化菜單，增加水果和蔬菜，“為來(lái)到麥當(dāng)勞的消費(fèi)者提供額外的選擇。”但在周二的業(yè)績(jī)發(fā)布會(huì)上，湯普森對(duì)這項(xiàng)計(jì)劃只字未提。

????在被問到回歸對(duì)漢堡與炸薯?xiàng)l的關(guān)注，是否與9月份的健康“額外選擇”計(jì)劃一致，麥當(dāng)勞發(fā)言人表示，麥當(dāng)勞的菜單“有各種均衡的選擇，可以滿足客戶個(gè)人的飲食和生活方式需求。”她補(bǔ)充說(shuō)：“我們調(diào)整了美國(guó)營(yíng)銷日程，以推出適量的新促銷菜單項(xiàng)目。”

????麥當(dāng)勞要傳達(dá)出一致的信息，這一點(diǎn)至關(guān)重要。因?yàn)橹挥羞@樣，當(dāng)客戶選擇麥當(dāng)勞用餐時(shí)，才不會(huì)感到失望。上世紀(jì)40年代，麥當(dāng)勞創(chuàng)立初期，菜單上共有九個(gè)項(xiàng)目，包括漢堡、芝士漢堡、軟飲料、牛奶、咖啡、炸薯片和餡餅。不論麥當(dāng)勞的連鎖店開在哪里，始終能夠保證菜單上的食物和飲料有相同的美味，從而為麥當(dāng)勞樹立起了一個(gè)標(biāo)志性的形象。

????同樣重要的是，麥當(dāng)勞近期進(jìn)行的過度菜單多樣化導(dǎo)致客戶等待時(shí)間延長(zhǎng)。然而，快餐業(yè)是速度優(yōu)先的行業(yè)。快餐行業(yè)雜志《QSR Magzine》在2013年10月報(bào)道稱，麥當(dāng)勞得來(lái)速的通行速度下降到了15年來(lái)的最低點(diǎn)，這份雜志認(rèn)為，原因在于麥當(dāng)勞復(fù)雜的菜單。

????投資公司Hedgeye Risk Management執(zhí)行董事霍華德?彭尼說(shuō)：“（麥當(dāng)勞）員工在后廚的工作真的令人佩服。每個(gè)人都有自己的時(shí)間和地點(diǎn)，他們的所有工作都在兩三步內(nèi)完成。”他表示，隨著菜單項(xiàng)目增多，員工的程序也會(huì)隨之增加，尤其是操作奶昔設(shè)備和濃縮咖啡機(jī)等，影響了麥當(dāng)勞的時(shí)間和效率。做一份奶昔的時(shí)間比灌一杯可樂的時(shí)間要長(zhǎng)得多。

????彭尼說(shuō)：“他們希望面面俱到，結(jié)果卻降低了服務(wù)效率。”

????回歸本原才是麥當(dāng)勞需要做的事情。畢竟，正如彭尼所說(shuō)，麥當(dāng)勞要變成下一家Chipotle或帕納拉，成功的機(jī)會(huì)似乎不大。“麥當(dāng)勞的核心客戶不會(huì)喜歡包著黃瓜的卷餅。”（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓

????McDonald's (MCD) is having a bit of an identity crisis.

????The burger behemoth announced a 5.2% drop in profits for the first three months of 2014 and a 1.7% decrease in same store sales in the U.S. on Tuesday. President and CEO Don Thompson emphasized that McDonald's would be focusing on its core products, like its Big Mac, Egg McMuffin, and its famous french fries.

????Thompson's back-to-basics vow comes in response to the sort of menu creep the chain experienced in 2013, when it rolled out a seemingly endless stream of limited time offers, like its Mighty Wings, a steak and egg burrito, a steak breakfast sandwich, a new Quarter pounder, a grilled onion cheddar burger, the Hot n' Spicy McChicken, and a product that the restaurant must have questioned from the start: Fish McBites. That was all on top of the Snack Wrap it added to its menu in 2006, the McCafe coffee beverages it introduced in 2009, and the fruit smoothies and McCafé Frappés it started to sell in 2010.

????After all, those special promotions and innovations didn't do much good. Same-store sales slipped by 0.2% in the U.S. last year, and chief operating officer Tim Fenton admitted in January that the fast-food chain "stumbled a bit [in 2013] with too many new products, too fast and we created a lot of complexity."

????On Tuesday, Thompson said that McDonald's "core products are familiar favorites for our customers. They truly represent McDonald's to all of our customers, and at about 40% of total sales, they are an incredible business asset for us that requires a constant drumbeat of communication."

????But there's another side to McDonald's, the one that in September announced in conjunction with the Clinton Foundation that it would feature food choices that are lower in fat, salt, or sugar content. Kiwi on a stick, anyone? The initiative aimed to appeal to health-conscious millennials, who are drawn to the fresh offerings of Panera Bread (PNRA) and Chipotle (CMG). At the time, Thompson said that McDonald's wanted to optimize its menu with more fruit and vegetables, "giving customers additional choices when they come to McDonald's." Thompson made no mention of this initiative in the earnings call on Tuesday.

????When asked specifically how the renewed focus on basic burgers and fries would mesh with the more healthful "additional choices" initiative from September, a McDonald's spokesperson simply said that the fast food chain's menu "features a variety of balanced choices to fit our customers' individual diet and lifestyle needs." She added, "We have adjusted our U.S. marketing calendar so that we're introducing the appropriate number of new and promotional menu items."

????It's vital that McDonald's craft a consistent message, so customers' expectations are met when they choose to eat beneath the Golden Arches. When McDonald's first got off the ground in the 1940s, it had a nine-item menu made up of hamburger, cheeseburger, soft drinks, milk, coffee, potato chips, and a slice of pie. It built its iconic reputation on guaranteeing that these food and beverage items would have the same great taste no matter the McDonald's location at which they were served.

????Just as crucial, too much menu diversification, which McDonald's has suffered from of late, leads to longer customer wait times in an industry built on speed. QSR Magazine, which covers the quick service restaurant industry, reported in October 2013 that McDonald's experienced the slowest drive-thru time in 15 years, which the publication attributed to its complicated menu.

????"What [McDonald's] workers do inside those four walls is really impressive. Everyone has their time and place, and their entire job is done in two or three steps," says Howard Penney, managing director at Hedgeye Risk Management. Adding more processes that come with a bigger menu, specifically the smoothie and espresso machines, has disrupted McDonald's restaurants' time and motion, he says. It takes a lot longer to make a smoothie than it does to pour a fountain Coke.

????"Everything they've done to become all things to all people has slowed service," Penney says.

????Going back to its roots could be just what McDonald's needs. After all, it seems like a long shot for the fast food giant to morph into the next Chipotle or Panera since, as Penney puts it, "the core McDonald's customer is not looking for a wrap with a cucumber in it."