The tiny volcanic nation of Iceland was one of the hardest hit by the global financial crisis. As their banks floundered, the national currency crumbled claiming an unexpected casualty, McDonald’s.
Iceland was home to two McDonald’s restaurants that are now in the process of closing. The financial issues with the Icelandic McDonald’s restaurants resulted from a number of factors: the market size was small and all ingredients had to be sourced from Germany; these issues, combined with the falling value of the Icelandic Krona, made for expensive hamburgers.
According to Jon Gardar Ogmundsson, the owner of Lyst (the company that ran McDonald’s in Iceland), the restaurants will be rebranded and will sell more affordable Icelandic food. He also added that there was no chance of McDonald’s returning to the country.
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