Ltd. said Friday it suffered a sharp decline in unconsolidated profits in 2001 due to falling hamburger sales after the mad cow disease outbreak in September.
The fast food operator also announced that as part of a drive to reverse this trend it has agreed with Pret A Manger, a London-based sandwich chain established in 1986, to open Pret A Manger outlets in Japan.
McDonald's Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of U.S.-based McDonald's Corp., and Pret A Manger will set up a 50-50 joint venture in the spring and will seek to open the first Pret outlet in Tokyo by the end of the year, according to Yasuyuki Yagi, deputy president and representative director of McDonald's Japan.
McDonald's Corp. owns 33 percent of the British firm, which operates 120 outlets in Britain and one in New York. Pret A Manger will launch its first outlet in Hong Kong on Tuesday.