Automatic Merchandiser

MAY 2015

Automatic Merchandiser serves the business management, marketing, technology and product information needs of its readers including vending operators, coffee service operators, product brokers, and product and equipment distributors in print.

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VendingMarketWatch Top News Stories cDonald's is struggling with declining sales. According to a recent fnancial statement, the company made the decision to close about 220 under- performing restaurants, pri- marily in the U.S. and China and about 130 restaurants in Japan. These closures are in addition to 350 stores the company originally planned to close in 2015. "The immedi- ate priority for our business is restoring growth under a new organizational structure and ownership mix designed to provide greater focus on the customer, improve our operating fundamentals and drive a recommitment to running great restaurants," CEO Steve Easterbrook said in a prepared statement. The company plans to reorganize management, eliminating layers that prohibit fast decision making. McDonald's will also give franchisees more control to better react to the demands of today's consumer. A different McDonald's Already McDonald's is trying different ways to attract customers back to its res- taurants. In Southern California, freshly baked Bundt Cakes and Petite Pastries are available with a McCafe in the morning. In New York, McDonald's is offering food delivery in certain areas with the help of Postmates delivery service. M McDonald's Closes 350 Underperforming Stores tive coffee businesses and create the world's leading pure-play coffee company — JACOBS DOUWE EGBERTS (JDE). The European Commission's approval fol- lows JDE's commitment to divest the Carte Noire brand throughout the European Economic Area, the Merrild brand in Denmark and the Baltics, and licensing of the Senseo brand to a third party in Austria. VT Bill Would Place Vending Machine Sales Under The State's 9% Rooms & Meals Tax ▶ Vermont's Senate Finance Committee is looking to overhaul the state's tax system to close a large budget gap, and that includes making changes to how vending machine sales are taxed. Beginning in July vending machine sales could be subject to the state's 9 percent rooms and meals tax if H.489 passes. Industry member Brent Farrell of Vitality Vending located in Essex Junction, VT, spoke out against the proposal at a public hearing. "I absolutely oppose this bill and the way it is written," Farrell told VendingMar- ketWatch. "I appreciate the challenge of the state needing to close the budget gap, but it's targeting vend- ing unfairly." He continued, "I can live with a tax on products across all retail seg- ments because then the price would go up everywhere, but right now they are taxing the method of purchase, not the product." The committee's proposal comes from its need to raise $35 million in new revenue to close a $118 million bud- get gap this year. McDonald's attempts to regain previous revenues. The Coca-Cola Co. Announces Additional Letters Of Intent With U.S. Bottling Partners ▶ The Coca-Cola Com- pany announced that it has taken additional steps toward the implementation of a 21st Century Beverage Partnership Model in the United States. As part of this model, The Coca-Cola Company has agreed in principle with three U.S. bottlers to continue granting new, expanded territories. These bottlers are Coca-Cola Bottling Company High Country, Coca-Cola Bot- tling Company United and Swire Coca-Cola USA. Additionally, The Coca- Cola Company has agreed in principle to the granting of expanded territories to four new expanding U.S. bottlers. These bottlers are Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Chesterman Com- pany, The Odom Corporation and Ozarks Coca-Cola Bot- tling Company. D.E Master Blenders 1753, Mondelez International Coffee Business Receives Conditional Approval ▶ D.E Master Blenders 1753 B.V. (DEMB) and Mondelez International, Inc. announced they have received conditional approval from the European Commis- sion to combine their respec- D E M B l d 8 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com May 2015

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