Destination Vietnam

McDonald's reported same store sales numbers yesterday, that were somewhat of a surprise for the market, but many remain unconvinced. Here is the release: Global Comparable Sales Increase 1.2% In January. At the same time, the company announced that they were opening their first store in Vietnam, in Ho Chi Minh City. Bringing their total Asian, African and Middle East footprint to 10000. Kind of ironic that McDonald's founder Ray Kroc is associated with American success and capitalism and Ho Chi Minh was the first president of communist, single party Vietnam. Ironic, don't you think. Although Wiki tells me that Ho Chi Minh actually worked for General Motors in the US as a young man, or at least he claimed that. He did work as a baker at Boston based Omni Parker House, a famous hotel and monument. Ho Chi Minh worked all over in many different countries, before finally leading his countrymen to independence. Perhaps the place will be renamed Saigon, we will see.


What we will certainly see is whether or not Vietnamese people are receptive to the ways of the West, if I could use that terminology. Western culture being drive through and 24 hour foods. Wow, this facility is certainly a megastore, 350 seater. Is that big? Yes, I guess it is. There are of course the normal menu tweaks with pork being a preference in Asia. What this does mean to McDonald's, which is a slow beast, is that it still remains a growth company. Vietnam has a population of 90 million and this is their very first taste of McDonald's. Imagine when North Korea opens up! Mind you, there are 300 stores over the border in South Korea. For the record, this becomes the 122 territory that McDonald's operates in. The first African McDonald's was opened in 1992 in Morocco, in Casablanca.And believe it or not, we have more or less the same number of McDonald's here as there are in Switzerland. More than Singapore (understandable) and Portugal. The figure is around 153 stores in total. Nice.