Over the past two decades, McDonald’s has had a shopfront in the lavish Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade where shoppers have been able to stop in for a Happy Meal after a day of retail therapy. However, the globally-recognized fast food chain restaurant was recently coerced to relocate from its upscale Milanese location, where it is surrounded by numerous luxury brands including the likes of Louis Vuitton and Gucci, to accommodate for a second Prada store within the arcade.
Whilst chief executive officer of Italian McDonald’s, Roberto Masi, expressed to The Financial Times, “We don’t want to fight with the city, but we were kicked out unfairly”, the fast-food chain is now suing the city of Milan. Reports reveal that McDonald’s is “seeking €24 million (that’s U.S $31.5 million) in damages over unfair public tender allegations” (Vogue, 2012), declaring that clauses were in position which stated that the popular eatery was exempt from closure. Moreover, the chain maintains that it was the sole business in the Galleria that did not obtain first rights of refusal on a new rental contract.
We always knew food and fashion went down well together (the editorial image above shows model Tony Ward donning Prada whist on a McDonald’s run), but it seems like this has turned into a food fight that is about to get extremely messy.
Tiffany Low
