McDonald's Targets Starbucks(1/2)

McDonald's, the fast-food company, is heating up competition with the Starbucks Coffee Company. McDonald's plans to put coffee bars in its fourteen thousand restaurants in the United States. Fewer than a thousand now offer specialty coffee drinks like lattes and cappuccinos.
Just like Starbucks, each coffee bar would have its own barista, the person who makes and serves the drinks. Company documents reported by the Wall Street Journal said the plan would add one billion dollars a year in sales.

McDonald's has enjoyed several years of strong growth. The company had almost twenty-two billion dollars in sales in two thousand six.

Still, the move to compete against Starbucks carries some risk. Some experts say it could slow down service at McDonald's restaurants. And some people who are happy with McDonald's the way it is now may not like the changes.

As early as two thousand one the company tested McCafes in the United States to sell specialty coffee at McDonald's restaurants. But the drinks were not available at the drive-through windows that provide two-thirds of its business. McDonald's thinks its new plan has a greater chance of success.

参考译文：

快餐巨头麦当劳与星巴克咖啡公司的竞争正日趋白热化。麦当劳计划在其美国1万4000家门店里设置咖啡吧。而现在仅有不到1000家门店提供咖啡特饮如拿铁和卡布其诺。

就像星巴克一样，每个咖啡吧都会有自己的服务生（Barista），这位服务生为顾客制作咖啡和提供服务。华尔街日报的公司纪要中报道到该计划将为麦当劳每年增加10亿美元的销售额。

麦当劳多年来保持着快速的增长。2006年公司销售额达到近220亿美元。

然而，与巴克竞争的举措也带来了一些风险。 有些专家认为拓展咖啡业务会减慢麦当劳的服务速度。很多喜欢麦当劳现有(经营)模式的人可能不喜欢这些改变.

早在2001年，公司就尝试建立麦咖啡在美国的麦当劳餐厅销售咖啡特饮。但是饮品不能通过占其生意2/3的驾驶通道窗口购买。麦当劳认为公司的新计划成功的可能性很大。

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