McDonald's closes restaurants following Japan BSE scare
21 March 2002 by Andrew Davies
Asia's first bout of BSE and a price cutting war has forced McDonald's Co. (Japan) Ltd. to close a record 130 outlets this year.
Following the<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?> outbreak of the disease in Japan last autumn, sales have been steadily falling despite assurances from the company that all its beef was imported and BSE-free.
A half-price campaign also failed to halt declining sales and will be suspended, said vice president Yasuyuki Yag. Yag will be replacing outgoing company president Den Fujita.
McDonald's, which has 3,785 outlets across Japan, has retained the top share of restaurant sales in the country since 1982 thanks to an aggressive price cutting policy.
