Although a spokesperson warned that prices could rise again at any time, Japanese McDonald’s customers can look forward to a dramatic decrease in the price of the chain’s signature burgers and cheeseburgers. McDonald’s Holding Co., the nation’s largest restaurant company, announced Tuesday that it would lower the price of its burgers from 80 yen to 59 yen—and its cheeseburger from 120 yen to 79 yen—as of August 5th at its 3,800 stores.
Analysts say the move is an attempt by McDonald’s Holding to halt the chain’s eight-month decline in same-store sales, attributed to widespread fear in Japan of contracting Mad Cow. “I think McDonald’s clearly had its back against the wall here and had to do something to try and stop this slide,” said Kana Sasaki, retail analyst at Tsubasa Securities told Dow Jones.