McDonald’s Wants Stores To Open On Christmas Day

After posting a significant sales growth last month, McDonald’s is asking its franchisees to open their stores on Christmas Day.

According to Advertising Age, the fast food company is now requesting that its store remain open on December 25. The restaurant reportedly posted a 2.5 percent sales growth in November thanks to strong sales on Thanksgiving.

Since offering its wares to people on holidays has proven its worth to McDonald’s, the company wants it franchisees to open its doors to the public on Christmas.

McDonald’s USA Chief Operating Officer Jim Johannesen issue this statement memo on November 8:

“Starting with Thanksgiving, ensure your restaurants are open throughout the holidays. Our largest holiday opportunity as a system is Christmas Day. Last year, [company-operated] restaurants that opened on Christmas averaged $5,500 in sales.”

According to The Consumerist, a follow-up memo issued on December 12 revealed that company stores made upwards of $6,000 by staying open on Thanksgiving Day. Over 6,000 restaurants are expected to remain open this year.

The recent memo reads:

“Thanks to proper planning and your great execution, we capitalized on the opportunity to be open while our customers were on the road, and those customers rewarded us.”

“Thanksgiving was never open. Then 15 to 16 years ago, some started staying open,” a former franchise owner explained to Advertising Age. “You would never even talk about being open on Christmas. For the franchisees, this is a big cultural shift.”

A number of companies made the decision to open their stores during the holidays this year. Last month, Walmart, Target, and several other retailers came under fire after deciding to open for business on Thanksgiving Day. Given the amount of money companies made on turkey day, chances are others will follow suit next year.

What do you think about McDonald’s asking its franchisees to remain open on Christmas Day? Do you think this is unfair to the employees?