Pi-Consulting

# France is supposed to be the world capital of serious gastronomy, and it’s assumed by many to have an automatic antipathy for American-style fast food. Indeed, a few years back a French farmer with a penchant for protests against globalization bulldozed a McDonalds restaurant before it was half-built. Denis Hennequin, the ranking McDonalds executive in France at the time, took this as a wake-up call. He started telling his customers about the company’s contribution to employment (40,000 recruits a year), and how all their meat, buns and other ingredients are French-produced. (Only the cheese was imported — even the French admit the Dutch make better cheddar). McDonalds France has forged ahead in popularity and profitability ever since. Of Europe’s 6,276 European restaurants, over 1,000 are in France, and serve a million customers a year. Reasons for this surprising success? One is that McDonalds is deliberately child-friendly, while most French parents find that other restaurants are anything but. M. Hennequin’s explanation? “A latent French admiration of American films, music, entertainment and — yes — food. (Source: New York Times)

OH yes– have a Peaceful Thanksgiving

# Nevada currently has the fastest-growing elderly population of any State in the Union. 65-plus residents rose by +100% in the fifteen years to 2004, vs. a national average of +17%. Older Californians, fed up with the Golden State’s cost of living, sell up and move to like-for-like accommodation in places like Las Vegas, attracted by the fun, the plentiful jobs for older people, and the mysteriously increased likelihood that their grown-up kids will come and visit. Vegas employers seem to like them. “Older employees have wisdom, temperance and patience”, says Jan Jones, a former Vegas mayor and vp of the Harrah’s casino chain. “They’ve seen it all, and they’re working because they want to”. The Nevada real-estate market is sprouting a significant number of “continuing care retirement communities”, and service providers look like profiting from these as healthily as the realtors. Demand is escalating. And entertainment when the sun is going down? Vegas dwellers and their visitors can always go to the Hilton and catch “Menopause — the Musical”. (Source: The Economist)