Iceland says bye to Big Mac

[ensho]

http://english.aljazeera.net/business/2009/10/20091027956768796.html


The Big Mac, long a symbol of globalisation, has become the latest victim of this tiny island nation's overexposure to the world financial crisis.

Iceland's three McDonald's restaurants - all in the capital Reykjavik - will close on October 31, as the franchise owner gives in to falling profits caused by the collapse in the Icelandic krona.

-snip-

Lyst was bound by McDonald's requirement that it import all the goods required for its restaurants - from packaging to meat and cheeses - from Germany.

Rising costs

Costs had doubled over the past year because of the fall in the krona currency and high import tariffs on imported goods, Ogmundsson said, making it impossible for the company to raise prices further and remain competitive with competitors that use locally sourced produce.

-snip-

Lyst plans to reopen the stores under a new brand name, Metro, using locally sourced materials and produce and retaining the franchise's current 90-strong staff.

-snip-

It is not the first time that McDonald's, which currently operates in more than 119 countries on six continents, has exited a country.

Its one and only restaurant in Barbados closed after just six months in 1996 because of slow sales. In 2002, the company pulled out of seven countries, including Bolivia, that had poor profit margins as part of an international cost-cutting exercise.
------------------------------------


why would they have to buy everything from Germany?

[Taverner]

1. This is strange, because usually their policy is to localize ingredients as much as possible

To save on shipping...

[ProgressiveProfessor]

2. Have to wonder how much consumption of whale meat is going to grow in Iceland

They are a whaling nation...