Doug McIntyre noted earlier this week that McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) is upgrading its coffee selection to include lattes, cappuccinos and other specialty drinks. It looks like the golden arches is trying to steal some market share from the green goddess of Starbucks (NYSE: SBUX). Mickey D's says that the new coffee drinks could bring in over $1 billion in sales. Put that in your cup and drink it!
The expanded coffee selection raises the question of whether this is part of a larger shift in McDonald's strategy and brand positioning. Zac Bissonnette noted a few weeks ago that McDonald's stores in Europe are going upscale, with leather seats, soft lighting and real silverware. Zac scoffed at the idea of high-end McDonald's here in the U.S., and it is hard to imagine why anyone could want to spend quality time in a restaurant saturated with the smell of McGriddles and fries, no matter how nice the lighting or shiny the spoons. It's also worth wondering whether the average McDonald's employee will be willing and able to make a good cappuccino. (It isn't that McDonald's employees are incompetent, but rather that the company likes to keep training to an absolute minimum and is loathe to provide any real skills lest the employees demand higher pay.)
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