McDonald's Europe chief quits after sales slide.
Russ Smyth, an up-and-coming McDonald's executive overseeing Europe, abruptly resigned from the company Tuesday. His exit follows sales declines in Europe and marks the second departure in less than a year of a potential future chief executive.Europe has proved a tricky market for McDonald's recently. The Oak Brook-based hamburger chain has had difficulty replicating its U.S. success there. In April, European sales fell 0.7 percent, while U.S. sales grew 4.7 percent. In March, on the other hand, European sales rose 7 percent.McDonald's U.S. sales have climbed for 24 straight months. But in Europe, where it gets about 30 percent of its profits, the company has grappled with image problems and sluggish economies in most of the countries. "Everyone's reading into this that European sales are horrible," said Scott Rothbort of LakeView Asset Management, a Millburn, N.J., firm that owns McDonald's shares."The European economy is a shambles, maybe except for the United Kingdom," Rothbort said. "I don't know if I can really blame an individual." Note EU-Digest: Europeans seem to be waking up to the fact that the Big Mac might not be too good for their health when consumed in large quantities?
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