McDonald's is launching new sandwiches next month in an effort to win fast food's chicken war.
On Monday, the company announced three versions of a new chicken sandwich, which will be available nationally on February 24: The Crispy Chicken Sandwich, topped with pickles and served on a potato roll, the Spicy Chicken Sandwich, which adds a spicy pepper sauce, and the Deluxe Chicken Sandwich, which comes with lettuce, tomatoes and mayo. McDonald's told investors in November to expect a new chicken sandwich this year.
The new products, along with faster drive-thrus and other changes, could help McDonald's draw more traffic to its restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.
Three new chicken sandwiches are launching in February 2021.
Prior to the pandemic, the company was losing customers to fast casual chains and higher-end burger joints. The number of transactions at its US restaurants that have been open for at least 13 months slipped 1.9% in 2019, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That year, McDonald's franchise operators warned that the chain needed a better chicken sandwich to win customers back. "JFK called for a man on the moon," they wrote in a letter that summer. "Our call should be a category leading chicken sandwich."
The burger chain, which already serves chicken nuggets and the McChicken sandwich nationally, has since tested fried chicken sandwiches in regional markets.
And during a November webcast for investors, Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald's USA, said that "a much anticipated, delicious, new crispy chicken sandwich" would hit US menus this year.
Chicken is a good bet for McDonald's, he explained.
"Globally, the chicken category is almost twice the size of beef," he said at the time. "It is growing faster and represents a significant opportunity," he said. "Developing a reputation for great chicken represents one of our highest aspirations. We want customers to choose McDonald's for chicken."
Erlinger added that the new sandwich would "jump-start our chicken journey," suggesting more chicken products to come. McDonald's launched Spicy Chicken McNuggets in the fall, its first new McNugget flavor in the United States since the item was introduced to the US menu in 1983.
Chains with a popular chicken sandwich have been rewarded by customers. Popeyes, which saw its new sandwich offering sell out just two weeks after it launched nationally in August 2019, has pointed to the sandwich as one reason that it continued to grow during the pandemic. Chick-fil-A, known for its line of chicken sandwiches, has been growing steadily for years.
Recently, the competition has been heating up. Wendy's rolled out a new version of its chicken sandwich in October. The brand's Classic Chicken Sandwich, made with a fried-chicken filet, lettuce, tomato, pickles and mayo, replaced the Homestyle Chicken Sandwich, which had been on Wendy's menu for at least a decade. Over the summer, KFC tested a new, premium chicken sandwich called the KFC Chicken Sandwich.
The 30 retailers and restaurant chains that filed for bankruptcy in 2020
Papyrus
The mall staple best known for selling stationery and upscale greeting cards went out of business, resulting in the closure of more than 250 stores across the U.S. and Canada. Papyrus made the announcement in January and blamed an overexpansion of stores, the downturn in brick-and-mortar shopping and its inability to recover fully from the 2008 financial crisis.
Bar Louie
January was last call for about half of the 90 U.S. locations of the casual restaurant chain, which is best known for its happy hour deals. The chain filed for Chapter 11 and came to an agreement with its lenders to purchase the chain through a bankruptcy sale.
Krystal
In its January bankruptcy filing, the 88-year-old fast food chain blamed several contributing factors including increased competition, shifting consumer tastes and the rise of online delivery platforms. Krystal emerged from bankruptcy in May.
The 30 retailers and restaurant chains that filed for bankruptcy in 2020
Pier 1 Imports closed all of its stores this year.
Modell's Sporting Goods
The family-owned chain founded in 1889 was known best for selling local teams' jerseys and equipment for youth leagues. Announced in March, the bankruptcy resulted in permanent closure all of its 153 stores, primarily in the northeast. The same company that bought Pier 1 also bought Modell's brand name in August for an online store.
True Religion
Temporary store closures and the work-from-home trend took its toll on the denim retailer. True Religion emerged from bankruptcy in October after making the announcement in April. It managed to slash its debt but closed dozens of locations.
J.Crew Group
In May, the preppy retailer, which operates the J.Crew and Madewell brands, became the first national U.S. retailer to file for bankruptcy protection since the pandemic forced a wave of temporary store closures. It exited bankruptcy in September with a smaller debt load and named a new CEO — its third in three years — in November.
Neiman Marcus
The 113-year-old upscale department store was hit especially hard by the nation working from home. After making its announcement in May, it emerged from bankruptcy in September with billions of dollars less in debt and five fewer stores, including its flashy Hudson Yards stores that opened in New York City in 2019.
JCPenney
The pandemic was the final blow to a 119-year-old company struggling to overcome a decade of bad decisions, executive instability and damaging market trends. JCPenney shuttered about a third of its stores. The company was rescued in December by mall owners Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management, which bought JCPenney out of bankruptcy.
Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes
COVID-19 was a brutal blow for all-you-can-eat buffets, especially for this restaurant chain. It announced the closure of all of its 97 U.S. restaurants and liquidated its assets.
Tuesday Morning
Another discount home goods retailer filed for bankruptcy in the spring, saying that the prolonged store closures caused an "insurmountable financial hurdle." The Dallas-based chain permanently closed approximately 230 of its nearly 700 U.S. stores in cities where "too many locations are in close proximity."
GNC
The 85-year-old vitamin and dietary supplement company closed about 1,200 stores as part of its bankruptcy. GNC has has been saddled with nearly $1 billion of debt and has faced declining sales at its brick-and-mortar locations since before the pandemic. It's in the process of selling itself to a Chinese pharmaceutical company
CEC Entertainment
Prolonged closures and stay-at-home orders was particularly damaging to Chuck E. Cheese's parent company. CEC, which also owns Peter Piper Pizza, is using Chapter 11 protection to "achieve a comprehensive balance sheet restructuring that supports its re-opening and longer-term strategic plans."
NPC International
The name of this huge franchisee might not sound familiar, but the stores it operates certainly have name recognition: 1,200 Pizza Hut and 400 Wendy's restaurants throughout the United States. The company blamed its debt load of nearly $1 billion as well as rising labor and food costs for the bankruptcy. Weeks later, NPC announced that up to 300 of its Pizza Hut locations will close.
Brooks Brothers
The 200-year-old menswear retailer, which has dressed 40 U.S. presidents and unofficially became the outfitter of Wall Street bankers, filed for bankruptcy. The privately held company had been struggling as business attire grew more casual in recent years and was especially damaged by the pandemic, which sent demand for suits plummeting. The brand was bought in September by Simon Property Group.
The 30 retailers and restaurant chains that filed for bankruptcy in 2020
Sur La Table closed half of its stores this year.
Muji USA
The U.S. arm of the Japanese retailer entered bankruptcy and closed a "small number" of its locations. Muji is using the process to emerge with a renewed focus on online sales.
Lucky Brand
The once-trendy denim company filed for bankruptcy, explaining in a release that the pandemic has "severely impacted sales across all channels." Lucky Brand will immediately close 13 of its roughly 200 stores in North America, which are mostly in malls. It sold itself to SPARC Group, the owner of Nautica and Aéropostale, in August.
RTW Retailwinds
The owner of women's retailer New York & Co. filed in mid-July. RTW Retailwinds, which has nearly 400 stores and 5,000 employees, closed hundreds of its locations. It blamed its collapse on the "challenging retail environment coupled with the impact of the pandemic" that has caused "significant financial distress."
Ascena Retail Group
The owner of Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant and other women's clothing stores also filed for bankruptcy. Ascena, which was in deep financial trouble even before the pandemic, closed hundreds of its stores including all of its roughly 300 Catherines locations. It's currently in the process of selling itself to a private equity firm.
California Pizza Kitchen
The 35-year-old pizza chain filed for bankruptcy because of restrictions on indoor dining in several U.S. states. It used the process to reduce its debt and closed several unprofitable locations. CPK exited bankruptcy in mid-November.
The 30 retailers and restaurant chains that filed for bankruptcy in 2020
Lord & Taylor closed all of its stores this year.Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Tailored Brands
The brand, which owns Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, filed for bankruptcy to cut down its debt. The filing followed a previous announcement that it was closing a third of its stores and cutting 20% of corporate positions. Tailored emerged from bankruptcy with a lighter debt load in December.
Stein Mart
The third major discount retailer filed for bankruptcy and closed its 300 U.S. stores. The 112-year-old company blamed its failure on changing consumer habits and the pandemic, both of which "have caused significant financial distress on our business," its CEO said. The brand was bought by an investment firm in December with plans to relaunch online.
The 30 retailers and restaurant chains that filed for bankruptcy in 2020
Century 21 is closing all of its stores.
Sizzler USA
The restaurant chain, which was one of the country's first casual restaurant chains, filed for bankruptcy because of COVID-19 lockdowns that forced it to temporarily close its restaurants' dining rooms. The 62-year-old company said that it's using the bankruptcy process to reduce debt and renegotiate its leases.
Ruby Tuesday
Another casual dining chain blamed the pandemic for its bankruptcy. Ruby Tuesday said it's using the process to reduce its debt and operate as normally as possible. The privately held chain has closed roughly 200 locations within the past few years, with about 300 remaining globally.
Friendly's
The East Coast diner chain best known for its "Fribble" milkshakes and sandwiches, filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than a decade. It intends to "sell substantially all of its assets" to a private hedge fund company that owns other quick-service restaurants, including Red Mango and Souper Salad. Friendly's has about 130 locations left, down from the 400 it operated about a decade ago.
Guitar Center
The 61-year-old company, the biggest musical instrument retailer in the United States, had tried to stay afloat during the pandemic by offering virtual music lessons, but ultimately filed for bankruptcy. Stores like Guitar Center depend on people making discretionary purchases have been among the worst-hit retailers this year.
Francesca's
Malls were dealt another blow with the bankruptcy of this woman's boutique. Francesca's is closing about a quarter of its 700 stores, and it's using the bankruptcy to obtain new financing and a possible sale.
CNN's Jordan Valinsky contributed to this report.
