????麥當勞（McDonald's）眼下似乎遇到了身份危機。

????周二，這個漢堡巨頭宣布2014年前三個月的利潤下降了5.2%，美國同店銷售額減少了1.7%。總裁兼CEO唐?湯普森強調，麥當勞將專注于自己的核心產品，如巨無霸（Big Mac）、蛋麥滿分（Egg McMuffin）和它著名的炸薯條。

????湯普森回歸本原的表態是為了應對麥當勞在2013年經歷的菜品種類大泛濫。去年，麥當勞走馬燈似的推出了各種限時菜單，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、烤洋蔥切達奶酪漢堡、辣味麥香雞（McChicken），還有一款所有餐廳從一開始就質疑的產品：魚米花（Fish McBites）。此外，麥當勞在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，這些特別促銷和創新并沒有產生太好的效果。去年，麥當勞美國同店銷售額下滑了0.2%，麥當勞首席運營官方振宇今年1月份承認，公司“新產品太多、推出頻率太快，太多新產品帶來了更多復雜性，導致我們（在2013年）的發展并不順利。”

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

????但麥當勞還有另外一面。去年9月份，麥當勞宣布與克林頓基金會（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？這項計劃的目的是吸引注重健康的千禧一代，帕納拉面包（Panera Bread）和墨西哥風味快餐店Chipotle等新興品牌很受千禧一代歡迎。當時，湯普森曾表示，麥當勞希望優化菜單，增加水果和蔬菜，“為來到麥當勞的消費者提供額外的選擇。”但在周二的業績發布會上，湯普森對這項計劃只字未提。

????在被問到回歸對漢堡與炸薯條的關注，是否與9月份的健康“額外選擇”計劃一致，麥當勞發言人表示，麥當勞的菜單“有各種均衡的選擇，可以滿足客戶個人的飲食和生活方式需求。”她補充說：“我們調整了美國營銷日程，以推出適量的新促銷菜單項目。”

????麥當勞要傳達出一致的信息，這一點至關重要。因為只有這樣，當客戶選擇麥當勞用餐時，才不會感到失望。上世紀40年代，麥當勞創立初期，菜單上共有九個項目，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，從而為麥當勞樹立起了一個標志性的形象。

????同樣重要的是，麥當勞近期進行的過度菜單多樣化導致客戶等待時間延長。然而，快餐業是速度優先的行業。快餐行業雜志《QSR Magzine》在2013年10月報道稱，麥當勞得來速的通行速度下降到了15年來的最低點，這份雜志認為，原因在于麥當勞復雜的菜單。

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

????彭尼說：“他們希望面面俱到，結果卻降低了服務效率。”

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

????譯者：劉進龍/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."