Why McDonald’s Is Delaying The McRib

Why McDonald’s Is Delaying The McRib, Fans of the cult favorite will have to wait until late December to get their fix this year. The McRib That Saved Christmas? McDonald’s Delays Return, If you’re counting the days until your next McDonald’s McRib fix, there is some bad news: fans of the cult favorite will need to wait until late December this year, according to a leaked memo.

The pork sandwich was originally expected to be sold from Oct. 22 through Nov. 11, but the popular limited-time product will be delayed to help boost sales at the end of the year, according to a memo from the McDonald’s Operators National Advertising Fund that was obtained by Ad Age. Unseasonably warm weather last December contributed to a 9.8-percent jump in McDonald’s U.S. same-stores last year.

The fast-food chain is hoping the McRib’s popularity will help it top this strong year-ago performance.

McDonald’s (MCD) will fill the void left by the McRib this autumn by offering a Cheddar Bacon Onion Angus burger as well as a similar chicken sandwich, according to the Ad Age report.

Then in February, the fast-food chain will debut Fish McBites, the report said. This is about a year after McDonald’s launched a poultry version of its McBites.

In recent months, the weak global economy has been taking a toll on McDonald’s sales. In July, the company reported its worst monthly sales in nine years, but same-store sales picked up again in August, although they remained shy of analysts’ expectations.

S&P Capital IQ analyst Jim Yin recently told CNBC that McDonald’s can expect that pressure to continue to hurt its margins in the “near term.”