MCD McDonalds Corp

By Micah Maidenberg 

McDonald's Corp. is taking "signature crafted" hamburgers off its menu, after the sandwiches slowed operations at the chain's restaurants.

The burger giant said it was discontinuing the customizable sandwiches to refocus on its standard quarter-pounder burgers. The shift comes as McDonald's struggles to attract customers in the U.S.

Comparable guest counts, a measurement of transactions at restaurants open for at least 13 months, dropped 2.2% last year in the domestic market. The company has raised prices and leaned on higher-priced, limited-time offers to bolster sales in the U.S.

McDonald's introduced the signature burger line in 2017, offering sandwiches topped with items like guacamole, sweet bacon or Dijon mustard. Executives at the time said they thought customers would appreciate a better burger. A year later the company added fresh-beef patties for its signature and quarter-pounder burgers. McDonald's has seen weaker traffic at its restaurants as other burger chains such as Five Guys and Shake Shack Inc. have gained market share.

But the customizable burgers made McDonald's kitchens more complex, as did the introduction of all-day breakfast in 2015. That has lengthened wait times at the chain's drive-through windows.

"Some of the complexity that we've added into the business has now created a little bit slower drive-through times," McDonald's finance chief Kevin Ozan said last month, referring to the signature burgers and other changes.

McDonald's is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings on April 30. Comparable sales, or sales at restaurants open for at least 13 months, are expected to rise 3.4% around the globe, according to FactSet.

Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 18, 2019 22:17 ET (02:17 GMT)

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