McDonald’s was the first international company to arrive in the then-Yugoslavia and Southeast Europe, back in 1988, and the first restaurant chain of this kind to introduce a new business culture and a new food serving method to the region.
Belgrade has to this day preserved the level of importance that it has always had among our colleagues at our headquarters in the U.S. We are still an important market within the McDonald’s system, and we’ve been making constant investments in Serbia every year. We’ve invested almost 60 million euros in the opening of restaurants and now have 30 restaurants across the country, and throughout all these years we’ve been helping to reduce the country’s unemployment rate, while we contribute to improving the living conditions of our fellow citizens with our CSR activities. All of the aforementioned illustrates and proves that we are a reliable partner to our economy sector.
Throughout all these years, McDonald’s has also been undergoing changes, in terms of modernization, keeping pace with technological developments and market changes and trends, but what has been a permanent feature since day one, and something that makes our company recognizable across the globe, is the supreme quality of our products, services and customer satisfaction. The changes that we are always willing to implement, and changes that we’ve been implementing constantly over the last couple of years, such as contactless ordering and food payment, turned out to be of key importance during the last year. Thanks to our services, such as Drive Thru, Walk Thru and McDelivery, since June last year we’ve managed to preserve our business, fulfil our targets, open four new restaurants, and refurbish several existing restaurants.
I am especially proud of our staff, the responsibility they demonstrate and efforts they exert, as well as their dedication in the most difficult of circumstances. Team spirit, support for colleagues, meeting business compliance requirements and work ethics are included in McDonald’s core competences and its formula for success. We share our success with the local community by offering support to different sporting, art and cultural events; we help associations and institutions, as well as individuals with intellectual disabilities, by offering them an opportunity to work in McDonald’s restaurants, thus providing our support to their inclusion in society.