Day 145 - 29 Jun 95 - Page 06

     
     1        been times when we have had as many as 20 per cent of the
     2        entire stores being Company stores and currently it is
     3        about 14 per cent.  That would go up and down.  I thought
     4        you were asking me did the total number of stores go down
     5        which is what I think the question was.  These only refer
     6        to the Company.
     7
     8   Q.   I do not know whether the previous one is 1989 or 1988, but
     9        over that period the number of Company-owned stores went
    10        down, did it?
    11        A.  It must have -- it fluctuates on a continuing basis and
    12        I cannot recall a specific year.  I do not keep, frankly, a
    13        track of how many Company stores we have versus licensee
    14        stores to any specific extent.
    15
    16   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Which figure are you actually looking at,
    17        Ms. Steel?
    18
    19   MS. STEEL:  The figures opposite 10 and 11 in the first column.
    20
    THE WITNESS:  On the left-hand side, my Lord, at the bottom
    22        where it says "Total".
    23
    24   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I see, yes.
    25
    26   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I think perhaps there is a very short
    27        route to this which is to be found on page 74 in tab 2 of
    28        pink bundle III where the number of Company and franchisee
    29        owned restaurants for those years, 89/90, are stated in the
    30        annual report.
    31
    32   MR. MORRIS:  Sorry, which document are we looking at?
    33
    34   MR. RAMPTON:  This is bundle III, pink, McDonald's profile,
    35        which has the annual reports in it.  It is tab 2, file
    36        number page 74 in the top right-hand corner.  I am not
    37        going to say anything about it.  One can see what number
    38        were operated by which category of operator, franchisees,
    39        and so on and so forth.
    40
    MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, thank you.  Between 89 and 90 the
    42        Company stores dropped marginally but the franchisees'
    43        stores rose more, so that between 89 and 90 there was an
    44        increase of 641.
    45
    46   MS. STEEL:   I do not know, it looks to me as though it went
    47        down roughly 50 stores between 89 and 90.
    48
    49   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, it did, operated by the Company, it went
    50        down 48 stores, but those operated by franchisees or under 
    51        business facilities lease arrangements rose and the 
    52        system-wide number rose by 641, if my mental arithmetic is 
    53        correct.
    54
    55   MS. STEEL:   If it went down by 48 stores that would be 356
    56        employees per store?
    57        A.  OK, go ahead.  I think I know where you are headed and
    58        you need to understand what happens.
    59
    60   Q.   Can you explain why it was that there appears to be a huge