Anthony Martinez, CEO of McDonald's Korea, "The Challenge of Delicious Burgers Continues"

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Anthony Martinez, CEO of McDonald's Korea, explains through an invitation video for the Best Burger that he will lead sustainable growth with a customer-centric strategy.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] “We achieved sales growth by introducing the ‘Best Burger’ for the first time in Asia. We will continue to create new growth through customer-centric strategies.”

The official message from Anthony Martinez, CEO of McDonald’s Korea, who presented this just three months after taking office, is ‘Enhancing Customer Experience.’ In the video titled “Invitation to the Best Burger: A Message from CEO Anthony Martinez,” released on McDonald’s official YouTube channel on the 10th, Martinez stated, “At the beginning and end of every decision, there will be the customer,” and “We will continuously pursue customer-centric strategies.”

Reflecting the recent trend where online platforms have become social communication channels across industries, this online video message?planned as a non-face-to-face communication method for the first time in the food and dining industry?includes the background and achievements of introducing the ‘Best Burger’ as well as McDonald’s Korea’s future strategic direction.

◆ Asia’s First Introduction of the ‘Best Burger’ in Korea = CEO Martinez first mentioned the achievements of the ‘Best Burger’ initiative, which has received positive responses from customers. On March 26, McDonald’s Korea introduced the Best Burger, which improved the overall burger-making process including ingredients, cooking procedures, and cooking equipment over approximately two years, becoming the fourth in the world and the first in Asia to do so.

Martinez shared, “Korean customers have a delicate palate that can immediately detect changes in taste,” and “With the goal of presenting the best burger to Korean customers who have shown deep affection and interest in McDonald’s Korea for 32 years, we introduced the Best Burger. We are very grateful that customers quickly recognized the changes and sent positive feedback.”

He continued, “Especially amid the challenging business environment caused by the spread of COVID-19, the non-face-to-face platforms such as drive-thru and McDelivery, which we proactively invested in, received great social response,” and explained, “The introduction of the Best Burger and the establishment of platforms that enhance customer convenience were key factors driving a 9% cumulative sales growth from January to April this year.”

Additionally, Martinez emphasized, “McDonald’s Korea has steadily operated all 400 stores nationwide even during difficult times,” and “The ability to provide food to customers reliably at all stores despite the challenging situation was possible thanks to our partners who supported uninterrupted ingredient supply to ensure smooth store operations, and employees who prioritized safety and hygiene and worked hard to provide tastier food to customers.”

Anthony Martinez, CEO of McDonald's Korea.

◆ Business Strategy Direction to Enhance Customer Experience = The business strategy direction revealed by CEO Martinez for McDonald’s Korea can be summarized as ▲ customer-centric decision-making ▲ delicious menu ▲ enhanced customer experience.

Among these, he identified ‘customer-centric decision-making’ as the top priority strategy, stating, “McDonald’s Korea serves 200 million customers annually and over 400,000 daily,” and “Based on the belief that the start and end of all decisions is the ‘customer,’ we will continuously listen to the opinions of various customer groups through diverse customer survey platforms and reflect innovations that meet customers’ diverse needs in our business.”

In fact, the Best Burger is also a result of incorporating customer feedback. During the approximately two-year preparation period for its introduction, customer opinions gathered through surveys about ‘delicious burgers’ allowed the inclusion of taste changes desired by Korean customers.

Martinez said, “As the world’s number one food service company, McDonald’s has continuously researched delicious burgers for the past 60 years,” and “To provide even more satisfying experiences to Korean customers, we will continue our ‘challenge toward more delicious menus,’ strengthen various customer contact platforms, and focus on devising ways to enhance customer convenience within stores.”

Finally, he promised a safe corporate culture. Martinez, who began his career as a McDonald’s crew member, said, “Store employees (crew) represent McDonald’s and serve customers at the closest point to them, so better customer experiences start with employee satisfaction,” and “We will create a safer and more respectful corporate culture for employees.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.