Chicago

MCDONALD'S Corp is making a new push to get franchisees to upgrade their kitchen equipment, aiming to win back customers with improved fried chicken and higher-end desserts. But it won't be cheap.

The company's independent operators, who own about 92 per cent of the more than 14,000 McDonald's restaurants in the US, may have to cough up about US$100,000 per store for new equipment, along with other upgrades such as LED lighting, according to internal company documents provided to Bloomberg News.