Iceland is "McDonald's free"

[~°2012°~]

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – The Big Mac, long a symbol of globalization, 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 next weekend, as the franchise owner gives in to falling profits caused by the collapse in the Icelandic krona.

"The economic situation has just made it too expensive for us," Magnus Ogmundsson, the managing director of Lyst Hr., McDonald's franchise holder in Iceland, told the Associated Press by telephone on Monday.

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.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/eu_iceland_mcdonald_s

[SuuT]

Something good was bound to come out of it all, Dr. Who.

[~°2012°~]

Something good was bound to come out of it all, Dr. Who.

Yes the good thing is how the process works like pure natural selection. Im waiting for KFC to go next.. gawd I hate that chain

[Eldritch]

There were only three McD's in Reykjavik? In downtown Helsinki, if you toss a brick over your shoulder there's 50/50 change you'll smash the window of a McDonald's.

An Icelandic friend of mine once told me he wanted to move to Greenland to raise his kids, cause it's clean quiet and "there's no McDonald's there".

This reminds me of a funny picture I saw on the net recently, titled McDonald's is everywhere!

[The Lawspeaker]

Indeed- something good was bound to come out of it all and I hope that the other fast food chains will take a hike as well.
If only the economic crisis here in the Netherlands would have the same effect..

[SwordoftheVistula]

Indeed- something good was bound to come out of it all and I hope that the other fast food chains will take a hike as well.
If only the economic crisis here in the Netherlands would have the same effect..

The Euro is strong, so doubt it. In this case it was the steep fall in Iceland's currency that caused the problem, since McDonalds required them to import all their materials from the EU. McDonalds, like many franchises, maintains strict control over what materials may be used and so on to ensure standardization, and I guess McDonalds corporate decided these could only be found in the EU. Since these make it too expensive for them to continue business in this manner, they are getting rid of the McDonalds brand but keeping the restaurants open under a new name with the same employees but using more locally produced materials.

The Eurozone has the opposite problem, worried about the Euro being 'too high'

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009...fx6998646.html

[~°2012°~]

The Euro is strong, so doubt it. In this case it was the steep fall in Iceland's currency that caused the problem, since McDonalds required them to import all their materials from the EU. McDonalds, like many franchises, maintains strict control over what materials may be used and so on to ensure standardization, and I guess McDonalds corporate decided these could only be found in the EU. Since these make it too expensive for them to continue business in this manner, they are getting rid of the McDonalds brand but keeping the restaurants open under a new name with the same employees but using more locally produced materials.

The death of McDonald's is still bread for Icelandic farmers. Fast food chains and restaurants can no longer import standardized, foreign meat, cheese and vegetables, because the fall rate doubled the cost. Now they (those who will survive) turn to domestic production, which will create more jobs. This is a sign of the decline of globalization in Iceland, which is of course very good, it will reduce imports and increase domestic production. A thorn in the spine of those who want to join the European Union just to get the euro.

[Wölfin]

There was only one McDonald's in my neighborhood. It closed down due to bankrupcy about 4 years ago. Guess there's one advantage to living in a "hipster" area...

[Brännvin]

Eat whale meat, much better than American Mac SHITS, suckers!

[Manifest Destiny]

I have sympathy for my Icelandic brethren. I don't know what I would do without McDonald's delicious chocolate milkshakes and $1 McChickens.

Should we allow Icelanders to request political asylum in civilized nations?