McDonald’s Japan Sales Down for 1st Time since 2015

April 7, 2020

Tokyo- McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) said Monday it posted its first decrease in monthly same-store sales since November 2015 amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The fast food chain operator saw sales in March fall 0.1 pct from a year before, as the number of customers dropped 7.7 pct because people tended to stay at home more as a preventive measure against the virus.

"(Sales) were affected by municipalities' stay-at-home requests and closures of commercial facilities hosting McDonald's stores," a McDonald's Japan investor relations official said.

On the other hand, delivery services and store use by families fared well, thanks to emergency school closures, with average spending per customer rising 8.3 pct.

Same-store sales at McDonald's Japan have risen for 51 consecutive months since food safety problems involving the discovery of foreign objects such as pieces of plastic in some products. Jiji Press