Back in the United States, there were some bright spots in the 1990s such as the company's wildly successful promotions featuring Beanie Babies and toys based on characters from Disney movie such as 101 Dalmatian
However, McDonald's 10-year licensing agreement with Disney rules out any promotions tied to competing media companies
Unfortunately for both parties, several of Disney's recent features have performed relatively poorly at the box office
By contrast, Burger King promotions tied to popular characters such as Nickelodeon's SpongeBob have enjoyed great success ,
By the late 1990s McDonald's strategy of growing its U.S. business by opening new restaurants was not yielding the desired results
In 1998, McDonald's struggles led to a management shakeup: Chairman and CEO Michael R. Quinlan relinquished the top position to Jack M. Greenberg, who had headed McDonald's USA
Greenberg immediately launched a new food preparation initiative called Made For You.
The goal was to improve customer perceptions of the taste and freshness of menu items
In the February 1998, McDonald's acquired a majority stake in the Chipotle Mexican Grill chain
the move signaled McDonald's recognition both of the increasing popularity of ethnic food and of heightened interest among consumers in healthy eating
In 1998, McDonald's also acquired aroma, a coffeehouse chain in London
The acquisition trend continued over the next 2 years as McDonald's snapped up Donators Pizza and Boston Market, a floundering chain featuring home-styles cooking
As Greenberg conceded, "there are prices of the business we can't do under the arches. When you're out with friends on a Saturday night for pizza and wine, you don't go to McDonald's."
Greenberg envisioned these partner brands adding at least 2 percent to McDonald’s growth rate within a few years.
In addition, McCafe, a gourmet coffee shop modeled on a successful Australian concept, was tested in downtown Chicago, and a McTreat ice cream parlor had a trial run in Houston.