McDonald’s goes upmarket with The Corner

A little sigh gets let out as figure reaches up remove the calendar from its home for the past twelve months. In its place a new calendar, all shiny, picturesque and blank. “New year; new me,” says whispers in a sullen tone.

It is a scene that gets played out in houses around the world. As soon as one year ends, resolutions aplenty get thrown around. Some might opt to head to the gym more regularly; other may decide to be more positive and a few opt for a complete overhaul. McDonald’s certainly fall into the latter category.

The fast-food giant has decided to get out the paint and completely refurbish one of its stand-alone McCafe ventures in Sydney. Not content with simply competing with a myriad of other coffee shops out there in Australia’s most populous city, McDonald’s have decided that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Rebranded as The Corner, this sleek and simple shop appears to be McDonald’s first attempt at cracking the lucrative – not to mention growing – high-end coffee market.

It looks to be a long way away from the usual fare you’d expect at one of the company’s many chains, something which manager Kyle Jarvis was keen to point out.

“The only association we have is that we are a McCafe,” Jarvis said to the Daily Telegraph.

“[B]ut what we are offering is totally different. If [a customer] is looking for a Quarter Pounder, they’ll probably be sorely disappointed.”

Instead, people can expect to find a mixture of Lebanese-inspired cuisine, soups, pulled pork, craft sodas and lots of coffee. There’s not a portion of fries, burger or trademark golden arch in sight. There is however a small Ronald McDonald cookie jar on a display counter, one of the few subtle hints to the shop’s heritage.

This is an interesting move by McDonald’s, who have seen their revenues and like-for-like sales drop in recent months. This attempt to diverse their brand whilst retaining a key margin maker in coffee could well work.

And let’s not forget it’s a formula that has been adopted by their competitors, such as Starbucks.

What do you think of The Corner?

photos: The Corner by McCafe, Facebook.