Will the Olympics really put a kick into Ronald McDonalds pants ?

Ronald McDonald is hummungous in Peking - this mega sponsor (since 1976) has 4 restaurants feeding stops on the Beijing Olympic site

1.In the Olympic Village to serve athletes (?)
2. At the main press center to serve the huge media population
3. Plus 2 for live spectators, in the main activity area
4. ... and on the Olympic Green.

This how they reported monthly sales figures in February ;
1. Same-store sales in the U.S. rose 8.3% during the month, led by breakfast and coffee offerings.
2. European same-store sales grew by an impressive 15.4% on strong results in the U.K., France, Germany and Russia.
3. Asia Pacific region, Middle East and Africa rose 10.9% for the month, mostly on strength in Australia, China and Japan.
4. Systemwide sales, which include restaurants owned by franchisees and affiliates operating under joint-venture agreements, rose 13.2% in February.

Now for July MCD reported total sales growth in a slightly different way and same store comparable sales Friday which were McHuge. Here is how it breaks down:

1. Global MCD: Comp sales +8.0%; Systemwide sales in constant currency +9.5%;
US: Comp sales +6.7%; Systemwide sales +7.6%;
2. Europe: Comp sales +7.6%; Systemwide sales in constant currency +9.5%;
3. Asia/Pac/MidEast: Comp sales +7.2%; Systemwide sales in constant currency +10.0%.

This shows how folks are grabbing a McCafe not a Starbucks cup of warm(ish) brown water - then there is good news for the crews - expanded hours around the globe; and, growth in China / Russia. Reflected in a 12 month high share price.

Olympic sponsorship

This year’s 12 Olympic “proud partners” are predominantly American companies Cola (KO), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), General Electric (GE), McDonalds (MCD), Visa (V), and Kodak (EK), followed by new local supporters such as personal computer maker, Lenovo (IBM PC's as was) , and Life Insurer-Manulife. They can also take the opportunity to benefit locally for example this smart idea in Israel - probably works better than lottery money.

French information technology firm Atos-Origin, timekeeper Omega, and electronics companies like Panasonic and Samsung are a second tier of providers (and they hope beneficiaries).

There also many other big providers who make the games happen ...Many major businesses use the Games as an advertising opportunity. This year, there is an extensive list composed of big American names like United Parcel (UPS), Anheuser-Busch (BUD), Staples (SPLS), Nike (NKE) and their rivals Adidas (ADDYY) to name a few. Local marketers making their entrance in the Olympics are Chinese internet-provider Sohu.com (SOHU) and the massive petroleum products company Sinopec (SHI).