The Ford Focus RS is the perfect blend of practicality, performance and visceral thrills February 8, 2016 The verdict Design | ★★★★☆ Performance | ★★★★★ Practicality | ★★★★ Value | ★★★★☆ A working class hero is something to be,” declared John Lennon in 1971. Was it mere coincidence that Ford had just launched the Escort RS1600, a road-legal rally car that brought power-slides to the masses? OK, so, yes, it definitely was a coincidence, but I’m [...]
Fifa sponsors call on under-fire organisation to accept independent oversight of reforms December 2, 2015 Five Fifa sponsors have written to world football's governing body to demand "cultural change" and "independent oversight" of reforms. Adidas, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Visa and Budweiser parent company Anheuser-Busch sent the letter to Fifa this week as it discusses reform proposals. Following a string of corruption allegations levelled against the organisation which have culminated in American [...]
Move over Mog and Man of the Moon: Science says we loved Harvey Nichols’ “gift face” more than the Sainsburys and John Lewis Christmas adverts in 2015 December 15, 2015 Move over Mog and Man on the Moon, it's Harvey Nichols' "gift face" Christmas advert which really connected with us and made us feel something this festive season. If you haven't seen it, the ad features a recreation of the day itself and the less than inspired gift giving which takes place on it, urging us [...]
Nobel Prize for Physics 2015: How two scientists changed our understanding of particle physics October 7, 2015 The 2015 Nobel Prize has been awarded to two scientists who helped reveal that neutrinos, one of the most enigmatic subatomic particles in our universe, have mass. Takaaki Kajita from the University of Tokyo in Japan won half the prize, while the other half went to Canadian physicist Arthur McDonald. At the Royal [...]
McDonald’s promotes UK finance chief February 10, 2015 MCDONALD’S announced another change to its senior management team yesterday after promoting its UK finance chief Paul Pomroy to managing director for the region with immediate effect. Pomroy, who joined the fast-food giant almost 20 years ago as a real estate analyst, will take over from Mark Hawthorne who has left the business for family [...]
McDonald’s out of fries in Venezuela as tight currency controls worsen food shortages January 7, 2015 Things have got so bad in Venezuela that the Golden Arches have to serve up fried yuca instead of French fries. McDonald's 100 franchises in the oil-dependent state have totally run out of potatoes, forcing them to substitute with regional staples like yuca and maize arepas. Latin America's biggest McDonald's franchise holder Arcos Dorados is [...]
Steve Easterbrook sees problems stack up on his plate at McDonald’s March 9, 2015 Fast-food giant McDonald’s yesterday revealed that customers were “lovin’ it” a lot less after unveiling another slide in worldwide sales, for the ninth month in a row. Worldwide sales fell 1.7 per cent, where analysts polled by Consensus Metrix had been expecting a 0.3 per cent decline. In the US, sales at restaurants open at [...]
Stunts like Burger King’s McWhopper mashup are PR at its tastiest September 4, 2015 When Burger King put its best brains to work on a novel way of promoting the little known International Day of Peace on 21 September, the result probably went way beyond the expectations of anyone at either that brand or their number one competitor, McDonald’s. By proposing – through the pages of the New York [...]
McDonald’s results: Golden Arches lose their sheen December 8, 2014 The figures Fast food giant McDonald's released disappointing full-year results today: not only have US sales dropped 4.6 per cent year-on-year in November, but sales in Europe are down two per cent and sales in Asia, the Middle East and Africa fell four per cent. That means global comparable sales dropped 2.2 per cent during [...]
Food safety scares in Asia hit Mcdonald’s February 9, 2015 MCDONALD’S, now led by British businessman Steve Easterbrook (pictured), yesterday reported a steeper-than-expected drop in January sales at established restaurants and pinned a big portion of the blame on food safety scandals in China and Japan. Sales at restaurants open at least 13 months fell 1.8 per cent in January, the company revealed.