Merchandising Means Happy Deals for McDonald’s

To you, McDonald’s may be just a hamburger chain. To Jackie Woodward, director of global marketing for the 22,000-unit company, it is much more.

It’s cookie jars, handbags and T-shirts emblazoned with images of McDonald’s and its characters. In short, Woodward said, it’s a “lifestyle brand.”

Such items are “an extension of the McDonald’s experience into the home,” she said. They “enhance the McDonald’s brand, and ultimately the McDonald’s restaurant business.”

If you’re not one of the millions who frequent McDonald’s or Wal-Mart--or watch the QVC shopping channel--you may not know that McDonald’s merchandise is on the upswing. Wal-Mart is the exclusive vendor for the McKids clothing line. QVC, during one show last month, sold 600 Ronald McDonald cookie jars and 15,000 salt and pepper shaker sets shaped like burgers and fries.

For the more discriminating shopper, Kathrine Baumann Beverly Hills, a maker of swanky handbags, recently created hand-beaded evening purses in the shapes of McDonald’s burgers and fries. You won’t find one in your Happy Meal--they sell on Rodeo Drive for up to $2,000.

The current rage for retro seems to be driving much of this activity.

“People have very warm feelings about growing up with McDonald’s, so the nostalgia angle is strong,” Woodward said.

Ron Kowalski, a licensing manager for McDonald’s at Chicago-based Frankel & Co., agreed: “People remember their first Happy Meal. They take their kids and grandkids to McDonald’s.”

The chain’s move toward upscale collectibles was fueled partly by the existing collectors market for McDonald’s memorabilia, such as old Happy Meal boxes and prizes. A national McDonald’s Collectors Club formed eight years ago has 1,300 members.

Some collectors grumble that McDonald’s is commercializing their hobby.

“Some of the newer stuff I’ll buy if I really like it,” said Frank Zamarripa, 47, a collector from Walnut. “They have a [porcelain] doll holding a box of French fries. I mean, give me a break. That’s not about McDonald’s. They’re just trying to sell dolls. They’re doing it for the money now.”

McDonald’s isn’t the only corporation cashing in on its brand name. Coca-Cola has long exploited its image on everything from clothing to replicas of old tin advertising signs. Campbell Soup sells items including mugs and magnets.

“We’re not Disney. We’re not Warner Bros. But there’s a lot of equity in the McDonald’s brand,” Kowalski said.

Even picky, hard-core collectors have been known to cave in to the new wave of merchandising. Said Rochester, N.Y.-based McDonald’s Collectors Club President Sharon Iranpour, 55: “If they get enough ‘cute’ into an item, even collectors can be caught off guard.”

Those items don’t have to be the big-ticket pieces: Iranpour found herself snapping up McDonald’s Christmas ornaments at Kmart last year for $6 apiece.