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Ray
Kroc
was the mastermind behind the worldwide
McDonald's fast food franchise. He bought
the fledgling restaurant chain in 1955
and grew it into the largest, most influential
fast food chain in the world.
Ray
Kroc was born on October 5, 1902 to Czech-Americans
in Chicago, Illinois. At the age of four,
Kroc's father took him to phrenologist,
a person who determines fate based on
the shape of someone's skull. The Phrenologist
told young Ray Kroc that he would someday
work in food service. But, as the first
World War erupted, Kroc became interested
in learning how to drive ambulances for
the war effort instead. The war, however,
ended before he had a chance to test his
training and Kroc looked elsewhere for
employment.
During
the late 1950s, Kroc tried his hand at
selling paper cups and even worked as
a pianist for a short period of time before
settling into a position as a milkshake
machine salesman. He traveled around the
country and sold milkshake machines to
various different cafes and restaurants,
all the while observing the layout and
management of the industry. Kroc was convinced
that many restaurants suffered from poor
management and were not living up to their
potential. It was during this time that
he ran across a small hamburger restaurant
in San Bernardino, California named McDonald's.
The
restaurant, owned by the McDonald brothers,
Richard and Maurice, ran eight of the
same milkshake machines sold by the fifty-two
year old Kroc. Since each machine could
spin five milkshakes at once, Kroc was
intrigued by the idea of a restaurant
that needed the ability to make forty
milkshakes at a time. He traveled to California
and, upon seeing the orderly, efficient
restaurant that served a huge community,
Ray Kroc was convinced he could sell the
machines to every McDonald store that
opened.
In
order to capitalize on the venture, Kroc
approached the brothers with a business
plan and they eventually settled on a
deal. As a result of the partnership,
however, Kroc would receive only 1.4%
of the franchisees' profit, giving 0.5%
to the brothers. It didn't take very long
for Kroc to realize that his profit would
be minimal. So, in order to gain access
to more of his investment, Ray Kroc convinced
the brothers to sell him the rights to
the McDonald's name.
Kroc
envisioned a restaurant that ran like
a factory and produced hot food, fast
service, and with consistent quality no
matter where he opened a restaurant. He
saw food preparation as a process and
broke it down into steps that could be
duplicated in any of his restaurants.
This way he could keep the product the
same no matter where the McDonald's was
located.
Low
franchise fees made it easy to open new
stores but cut into any potential profits
for Kroc. As a result, Kroc decided to
purchase the land on which McDonald's
would open and ultimately serve as a landlord.
He set up the Franchise Realty Corporation
in 1956 and was able to purchase tracts
of land in order to help him produce a
profit for his company. By 1960 there
were over 200 McDonald's around the United
States.
Kroc
saw his franchise as a way to sell as
service, not food. After all, Big Boy,
Dairy Queen, and A&W were already
established restaurant chains. Ray Kroc
needed McDonald's to stand out. Consistency
was the key and he made sure that every
McDonald's ran the same. He established
national advertising campaigns to support
his restaurants and took the brand international
in 1971 to Japan and Germany.
Ray
Kroc died on January 14, 1984 of old age.
At the time he was worth an estimated
$500 million.
This Ray Kroc biography may not
be reproduced online.
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