Big Mac price in China
Big Mac, Bigger Bucks
6/11/2003
McDonald’s franchises in China have just raised prices for their food. A Big Mac used to cost ¥10.00; now it is ¥0.40 more. Prices for other offerings also rose. The timing of the change is somewhat interesting, in view of the fact that recently in the U.S. itself McDonald’s, along with other fast-food chains, has come under attack for allegedly over-stuffing their customers.
Anyway, how does the price of a Big Mac in China compare to that in the United States? The calculation is a little tricky because the contexts are so different. But let’s say, if a worker in a mid-size Chinese city takes home ¥1,000 a month, he’s doing all right. This means that to buy a Big Mac for his kids, he spends about one percent of his monthly income. Convert that into American terms, it would be an American fellow with a monthly take-home salary of $2,000 spending $20 for his Big Mac.
It’s a whopper alright.
Still, McDonald’s is doing well in China, with about five hundred restaurants in operation now.
Why such success? It’s a kind of a mystery to many observers - after all, China is a country known for its fine cuisine. Possible explanations: for one thing, China is a huge country; even if only a very small percentage of its people go to McDonald’s, it’s big business; also, the Chinese are still in that stage where if it’s foreign and exotic, it’s interesting; furthermore, McDonald’s tends to be clean and there you know what you’re going to get; last but not the least, in China - in the urban areas at least - the famous One-Child policy is still in effect, and Chinese parents are more than willing to indulge their kids’ desire to eat at McDonald’s. But why Chinese kids want to eat at McDonald’s? Maybe it's the little toys offered, maybe it’s the clown.
As for those Americans who go to China and still want to eat at McDonald’s, here is the deal: a Big Mac would cost you about US$1.3.
merechina.com |
