Thursday, July 24, 2014

Bad Starbucks & Micky D in China

A USA-based purveyor to Starbucks and other USA chains in China got caught serving bad chicken to its customers.
On Tuesday, Starbucks said some of its cafes previously sold products containing chicken from Shanghai Husi Food Co, which was suspected of using expired meat and was shut down on Sunday by local regulators. A Tokyo-based spokesman for McDonald's said the company had sourced about a fifth of its Chicken McNuggets from Shanghai Husi Food, a subsidiary of US-based OSI Group, and had halted sales of the product on Monday. Alternative supplies of chicken have been found in Thailand and China, he added.
The company claims, although large, it is not like other companies. Apparently so.
What happened at Husi Shanghai is completely unacceptable. I will not try and defend it or explain it. It was terribly wrong, and I am appalled that it ever happened in the company that I own.
If you cannot explain it, then you need to go out of business, Shelly.  The Chinese are paying premium prices for USA brands because the Chinese cannot trust their own food supply.  If you sneak some bad ingredients into their meals and "cannot explain it" then time to get out of the business.

You are wrecking a good opportunity for everyone else in China when you supply bad for top dollar.

Markets take no prisoners, but they are very forgiving.  Own up instantly, explain exactly how you will address the issue, and set up a compensation plan immediately.  "Won't explain it" doesn't cut it.

Feel free to forward this by email to three of your friends.


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