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Tokyo - McDonald's Holdings Japan said sales fell by a quarter in August, the steepest year-on-year drop since the company became public in 2001, after a food safety scare kept customers away.
McDonald's Corp holds a 49.9% stake in Japan's largest restaurant chain. In July, a Chinese TV report alleged that a supplier to fast food chains including McDonald's and rival Yum Brands had improperly handled meat and used expired food.
In a statement on Tuesday, McDonald's Japan said sales at stores open at least 13 months dropped 25.1% in August, while the number of customers fell 16.9%, mainly due to concerns about food safety.
"At the moment, we don't know how long the impact (of the food scare) will last," a McDonald's Japan spokesperson added.
Even before the scare, sales at McDonald's Japan were falling this year due to rising competition from convenience stores: August was the seventh straight month of year-on-year sales decline.
After the safety scare, McDonald's Japan withdrew its profit forecasts for the year and said at the time that its sales were down 15% to 20% on a daily basis compared with original projections.
Before the announcement, shares in McDonald's Japan closed down 1.4% at ¥2 610, underperforming the broader Tokyo market, which ended flat.
