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McHotDog prices cut by 30 yen, but still only on the breakfast menu

March 26, 2009
By Ken Worsley


A couple of weeks ago, I pointed out an ad for the new McDonald’s McHotDog to a friend as we rode the Ginza Line in Tokyo. While it seemed to make sense for McDonald’s to sell hot dogs, what didn’t make sense what that they were listed as a breakfast item to be sold only until 10:30am.

We both thought this was a stupid idea - who the hell eats hot dogs before 11 o’clock in the morning? After all, they’re not exactly breakfast sausage. Earlier today, McDonald’s announced that it would cut the price of a McHotDog by 30 yen, to 190 yen - and that two can be bought for 330 yen. Are they not selling well? This would seem like a logical conclusion, but the Nikkei quotes a McDonald’s official as saying, “Because sales have been strong, we want to offer savings and attract more customers during breakfast hours.”

“Sales have been strong” is a vague statement at best. Is this official referring to overall sales? What about sales of the McHotDog itself? How much inventory has been purchased and needs to move? We don’t have those figures. The McHotDog is not being positioned as a seasonal or temporary item, so why the price cut after only being on the menu for three weeks?

The decision to put the hot dog on the breakfast menu appears to be a huge mistake and a massive deviation from the firm’s recent marketing successes, including the recent giveaway of folders that came with a purchase of a Quarter Pounder and featured members of Japan’s World Baseball Classic team. In the stands at the Tokyo Dome during the WBC, I saw hundreds of fans waving their McDonald’s folders during games, essentially giving McDonald’s more free advertising.

Will the McHotDog still be on the menu three months from now? Will McDonald’s take the obvious step and at least make it part of its lunchtime menu? Another story to follow.

Addendum: Hot dogs are usually called “doggu” in Japan and are very popular at coffee shops. Doutor sells a “German hot dog,” a “Hot dog with sauerkraut” and a “Hot dog with spicy caponata - Tomato and vegetable relish.” What’s interesting is that the heading on the menu is ホットドッグ (hot dog) in katakana, but each product is named ジャーマンドッグ (German Dog), ザワークラウトドッグ (Sauerkraut Dog) and ピリ辛カボナータドッグ　(Spicy Caponata Dog). Of course, Doutor sells them all day long.

By the way, if you’re an Italian speaker, please help me out with “caponata,” which I believe is “capunata” in Sicilian - I know this is a an eggplant-tomato dish with vinegar added, but I don’t think I’ve had it in that style before. The word seems more Spanish than Italian to me, and I imagine it having olives, capers and perhaps some seafood thrown in from its name - but I have no idea how to prepare it in the southern manner - does it differ from Naples to Palermo? If you have a recipe, I’d love to hear it (And if you could teach me how to prepare it I would be eternally grateful). I somehow doubt the word is related to “capo nato,” which means “born leader” in Italian, but sometimes I have to wonder.

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Comments

7 Responses to “McHotDog prices cut by 30 yen, but still only on the breakfast menu”

  1. Matt Dioguardi on March 27th, 2009 7:23 am

    As I understood it, this is a sort of nostalgic product. “Makku” used to have hot dogs on their old breakfast menu a number of years ago.

  2. Meg on March 27th, 2009 9:08 am

    Completely agree. The other day, I was given about a dozen of McHotDog free coupons. “Who eats hot dogs for breakfast?” I thought to my self. They must be desperate to get rid of their hot dogs asap. Interestingly, my coupons expire at the end of April. Does this mean they will take the item down from its menu?

    By the way, I haven’t got around to try their hot dogs yet. Those coupons are still hidden in my wallet waiting for their mission to be fulfilled.

  3. Ken Worsley on March 27th, 2009 3:10 pm

    By the way, I haven’t got around to try their hot dogs yet.

    Me neither. And I never will.

  4. Pieman on March 30th, 2009 9:07 am

    Isn’t the problem here that you are making an assumption from an American standpoint? I wouldn’t eat a ho tdog at breakfast, either, but AFAIK, breakfast wieners/sausages seem common in Japan. At least I see them all the time at the buffets of the hotels I’ve stayed in.

  5. Ken Worsley on March 30th, 2009 12:41 pm

    Isn’t the problem here that you are making an assumption from an American standpoint?

    Nope. Breakfast sausage is far more popular in the US than Japan.

    Besides, you’re completely missing the point. Having the hot dog on the breakfast menu only is stupid. Not putting it on the lunch/dinner menu only limits potential sales.

    Read what’s actually there.

  6. J on April 4th, 2009 9:22 pm

    I’ll take those coupons off of your hands, btw the McCrap near my house doesn’t even have a breakfast menu dudes! So, it is burger and fries at 9 a.m!

  7. Ken Worsley on August 6th, 2009 12:25 am

    J, it doesn’t matter. You shouldn’t eat there.

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