McDonald's To Close Majority Of Outlets At Walmart: WSJ

(RTTNews) - Fast-food giant MacDonald's Corporation (MCD) will close hundreds of outlets inside Walmart Inc.'s stores (WMT) across the country, reported Wall Street Journal on Friday.

McDonald's have slowly reduced the number of outlets inside malls through the year and the lack of footfall during the pandemic has only sped up the process.

According to McDonald's CFO Kevin Ozan, "The U.S. is accelerating some restaurant closures previously planned for future years. Of the 200 U.S. closures for this year, over half are low-volume restaurants in Walmart store locations".

It is understood that only 150 outlets will remain across 3,570 Walmart SuperCenters. "Markets with a higher percentage of drive-thrus are showing quicker recovery. Markets with a higher concentration of city center and mall restaurants are seeing a heavier impact from reduced foot traffic." added Ozan.

The two companies have been in this symbiotic relationship for more than three decades but the pandemic has changed the scenario. Walmart's e-commerce platform has reported a 79% growth in the last financial year. Since fewer people are turning up to shop at Walmart, and more people are opting for deliveries and drive-throughs at McDonald's, the decision came as inevitable.

McDonald's is operating in 13,835 locations at the moment, a 3.5% drop from 14,350 locations in 2014.