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McDonald's Japan Apologizes After Pokémon Card Offer Runs Into Trouble

Fast-food restaurant chain McDonald's Japan announced on Saturday that several of its locations have ended distribution of limited-edition Pokémon Trading Card Game cards with its Happy Meals (known as Happy Sets in Japan) early. McDonald's Japan apologized for "not being able to meet the expectations of our customers who were looking forward to the product due to the early end of distribution." The fast-food chain also requested that guests refrain from contacting McDonald's locations regarding stock or availability of the limited-edition Pokémon cards.

McDonald's Japan initially announced on August 4 that it would include limited edition Pokémon cards with its Pokémon Happy Meal sets over the three-day weekend. Each Happy Meal set included a two-card pack featuring a Pikachu and one additional random Pokémon, such as Sprigatito, Fuecoco, Quaxly, Ralts, or Riolu.

Following the announcement, McDonald's Japan released a statement urging patrons to refrain from purchasing Pokémon Happy Meal sets with the intent of reselling the Pokémon cards. The statement also asked customers to purchase no more than five Pokémon Happy Meals per order to ensure that many children can receive the Pokémon cards.

The fast-food company then issued a follow-up statement on August 7 stating that it had partnered with on-line marketplace Mercari to “implement measures to raise awareness before and after the product's release and to combat copyright infringement.” McDonald's Japan explained the two companies will share information regarding McDonald's products including the Pokémon Happy Meal appearing on Mercari.

A report by Japanese outlet Otona Answer reported that despite measures taken by McDonald's Japan, Japanese social media was abuzz with complaints from people who could not purchase a Pokémon Happy Meal or were waiting in line to purchase the set. Otona Answer shared a handful of social media posts, expressing disappointment at not being able to purchase the Pokémon Happy Meal. Two posts note that McDonald's customers were taking Happy Meals back to their cars and that the cards were already being resold in bulk, highlighting the ineffectiveness of McDonald's Japan's measures.

McDonald's Japan apologized for the inconvenience caused to customers, staff, residence around McDonald's locations, and tenant owners on August 11. The company stated:

McDonald's does not tolerate the purchase of Happy Meals for resale or the abandonment and disposal of food. This situation clearly violates our long-held philosophy of "providing a fun dining experience for children and families" and our restaurant stance, and we sincerely acknowledge that our response was inadequate.

Going forward, McDonald's Japan will implement stricter purchase limits and policies during certain Happy Meal sales promotions. The company plans to set limits on the number of Happy Meals customers can purchase, restrict mobile ordering and delivery if necessary, refuse service from customers who "do not abide by our rules and manners, such as attempting to make bulk purchases exceeding the limit, repeatedly lining up at the counter, or behaving in an intimidating manner toward our staff," and cancel McDonald's app membership for customers who "clearly interfered with the operation of this service when purchasing the Pokémon Happy Meal, or who have a history of such purchases."

McDonald's Japan also plans to work with reselling websites to implement measures to "curb malicious hoarding and resale activities by certain customers as much as possible." The company did not go into details what these measures would entail.

McDonald's Japan has not announced if it will reissue the limited-edition Pokémon Trading Card Game cards.

Sources: McDonald's Japan (link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5), Pokémon Card's YouTube channel, Otona Anser via Yahoo! Japan News, Livedoor News