McDonald’s failure in Bolivia
People walk past a giant logo of a newly opened McDonald’s on May 1, 2008 in Kaifeng, China.
It's the country that turned its back on McDonald's.
The fast food giant added the traditional llajwa sauce to its classic patties, but still Bolivians weren't conviced.
So after five years, McDonald's closed its eight branches and left the country in 2002.
Now a new documentary, "¿Por qué quebró McDonald's en Bolivia?", explores why McDonald's failed. Filmmaker Fernando Martinez focuses on social and cultural aspects to explain the company's lack of success. "Culture beat a transnational, globalized world," he said.
Watch the trailer below.
And for comparison's sake, here are numbers from the film on McDonald's reach throughout South America, courtesy of the BBC.
- Argentina: 192
- Brazil: 480
- Chile: 55
- Colombia: 97
- Ecuador: 19
- Paraguay: 7
- Peru: 20
- Uruguay: 19
- Venezuela: 180