Who owns wendys international

In Wendy's agency, Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, teamed up with celebrated commercial director Joe Sedelmaier on a campaign that registered the highest consumer awareness levels in the advertising industry's history, in addition to captivating judges at the Clio Awards and winning three of the industry's highest honors.

Moreover, the "Where's the Beef? It was voted the most popular commercial in the United States in One of the ads, "Parts Is Parts," pointed out the difference between the competition's pressed chicken patties and Wendy's chicken breast filet sandwiches. Much of Wendy's sales growth could be credited to such menu extensions as the grilled chicken sandwich, Garden Spot salad bar, and stuffed baked potatoes.

These new products and the phenomenal success of the "Where's the Beef? As one unnamed Wendy's executive confessed in Barron's, management started to believe that everything they touched would "turn to gold. In the chain introduced sit-down breakfasts featuring omelettes and French toast. The new breakfasts involved a huge investment of capital and labor, and could not be served quickly enough to fit in with the fast-food format.

Eventually, the breakfast menu was scuttled. Some of the chain's original franchisees sold their stores to new owners who flouted Wendy's high standards.

Others became absentee managers, leaving the day-to-day supervision to employees. As standards of cleanliness, quality, and service slipped at some Wendy's locations, sales dropped. In response to the falling income, store labor was cut, the morale of those who remained plunged, and turnover rates began to explode. By the end of the year, 20 percent of Wendy's restaurants were nearing failure, and franchisees presented the chain's management a vote of no confidence.

The desperate situation brought Dave Thomas out of semiretirement and challenged one of Wendy's most successful franchisees to revive the failing business. James W. Near had been one of Dave Thomas's competitors in the late s when they both operated restaurants in Columbus.

Practically raised in his father's White Castle hamburger chain, Near built a unit Burger Boy Food-A-Rama chain of his own by the end of the decade. Near had become a Wendy's franchisee in , opening 39 successful restaurants in West Virginia and Florida within four years. Sisters became a subsidiary of Wendy's in and was sold to its largest franchise owner in Near agreed to take the position of president and chief operating officer on the condition that Thomas would sustain an active role in the company as a spokesperson and traveling mentor.

Thomas agreed. Weak stores were eliminated and a new building design lowered the initial franchise investment. Near fired four top managers, cut administrative positions, and revamped field operations. New programs gave the remaining employees a vested interest in the chain's success: base pay, benefits, and bonuses were raised; an employee stock option called "We Share" made workers shareholders; and standardized training gave all employees a new perspective on their jobs.

When Near took over, Wendy's was replacing employees at a rate of 55 percent a year; six years later, turnover stood at 20 percent. With renewed chainwide standards for cleanliness and customer service, Near turned his attention to the menu. Changes were based on several industry trends, including discount pricing, consumer health concerns, and premium menu items. Spurred by the recession of the late s and early s, many fast-food chains established discount pricing to appeal to more frugal customers.

Wendy's introduced its Super Value Menu in The daily feature included seven cent items, allowing it to appeal to thrifty consumers without issuing profit-eating coupons.

An expanded salad bar and skinless chicken breast sandwich catered to more health-conscious consumers, while the Big Classic, Dave's Deluxe, and Chicken Cordon Bleu specialty sandwiches appealed to Wendy's traditional hearty eaters.

As Near worked to cover all of the menu bases, Thomas returned to the television studio for the promotional push. In Thomas reappeared in commercials offering customers a special money-back guarantee if they did not concur that Wendy's had the best-tasting hamburgers in the industry. The ad was supported by one of the largest testimonial advertising campaigns in television history. Local residents in about U. Unlike the critics, however, consumers gave Thomas an enthusiastic reception--his promotions earned Wendy's highest advertising awareness figures since the "Where's the Beef?

In fact, such campaigns even helped earn Thomas the designation, "the Colonel Sanders of Wendy's," in reference to the promotional efforts of Thomas's early mentor. The success of Wendy's revitalization showed in sales, rejuvenated expansion, and widespread recognition of the accomplishment.

Despite a lingering recession, in and Wendy's had outperformed the industry with 24 consecutive months of same-store sales gains. Wendy's five-year average earnings-per-share growth hit 58 percent, more than four times that of McDonald's for the same period. In the early s expansion picked up once again. The company opened its 4,th restaurant in , and projected another 1, openings by mid-decade. Within the United States, the company planned to be opening approximately stores a year by Wendy's plans, however, also targeted international growth, where opportunities for expansion were infinitely better than those in the saturated American market.

Near and Thomas accumulated numerous awards in recognition of the dramatic turnaround at Wendy's. In Near was given the title of CEO and was named chairman two years later. Moreover, he was honored by his colleagues in the restaurant industry when he was named Operator of the Year by Nation's Restaurant News and Executive of the Year by Restaurants and Institutions.

Restaurant Business acknowledged both men's entrepreneurial efforts with its annual Leadership Awards. Thomas also received the Horatio Alger Award, named for the author who popularized the concept of the "self-made man.

As Wendy's "ambassador," Thomas began spending most of his time traveling to and from book promotions, public appearances, and franchise openings. His promotional work complemented Near's continuing efforts to "grow the company. Performance Pays! Wendy's recovery seemed well-established in the mids, judged not just by the numbers but by public opinion as well. Consumer polls in judged Wendy's to have the best food in the fast-food burger business, the best menu variety, and the most pleasant atmosphere.

Restaurants and Institutions gave Wendy's its overall top rating from to , putting it ahead of eight other burger chains. Montgomery Securities analyst Michael Mueller told Financial World in , "They're doing everything one should in the fast-food industry.

Having brought Wendy's to this high point, Near decided to step down from the CEO position in late while remaining chairman.

He was replaced by Gordon Teter, who had served Wendy's as senior vice-president for three years and chief operating officer for four. His strengths were regarded by many as exactly what Wendy's needed to go the next step, that of stealing market share from the big guys. A firm believer in sticking to the basics, Teter was expected to apply his talents for cost control and well-regulated operations.

Teter had a tough act to follow. Wendy's phenomenal growth slowed somewhat in the mids. In same-store sales dropped to 2. Because fast-food profits were much higher overseas, Wendy's saw foreign expansion as a way to keep growth and profitability up.

In , Wendy's aggressive foreign expansion plan called for the company to open at least new restaurants a year around the world. Wendy's previous attempt to expand overseas, in the early to mids, was a flop. Wendy's changed its decor and food to suit local tastes, but in less than a decade many of its foreign sites were floundering. Teter told Financial World in that after making every mistake you can make, Wendy's would stick to basics: "We just can't get diverted to things that sound sexy and look attractive.

As part of its expansion plan, Wendy's acquired the privately owned Canadian restaurant chain Tim Hortons. Canada's largest coffee and baked goods chain exchanged all outstanding shares of its stock for The acquisition strengthened Wendy's presence in Canada, bringing the total number of its restaurants in that country to 1, Wendy's had been experimenting with sites that combined Wendy's and Tim Hortons restaurants since The logic behind such "combo" sites was that they enabled Wendy's outlets to add a breakfast menu, and indeed Tim Hortons units in Canada typically tallied 60 to 65 percent of their sales before 10 a.

The success of the combo units led Wendy's to plan on opening 30 more such sites a year after the merger. In addition, in , Wendy's bought out Hardee's restaurants in the northern tier of states, strengthening the company's position there as well. Wendy's also continued to invest in its successful, homespun ads featuring Dave Thomas. The "Letters to Dave" campaign, focusing on the restaurant's Super Value Menu and featuring customers' letters to the restaurateur, paired Thomas with soap opera star Susan Lucci.

In another series, Dave joined Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi to participate in such winter sports as pairs figure skating and ski jumping. Still, Wendy's brand recognition trailed that of McDonald's by only a few points. As Wendy's moved into the late s, management focused on maintaining the momentum the company had generated in the early s, with an emphasis on street-level operations, marketing, and efficient administration.

Continued expansion remained a priority as well. The 5,th Wendy's restaurant opened in Columbus, Ohio, in March By the end of that year, there were more than 5, Wendy's units, up from 4, in Also in Wendy's introduced a line of pita sandwiches. After net income fell in , in part because of the effects of the Asian economic crisis and in part because of disappointing results at Tim Hortons outlets in the United States, Teter responded by closing more than 60 underperforming restaurants in and by slowing down the pace of expansion.

The total number of units--including both Wendy's and Tim Hortons--increased by only in , reaching the 7, mark, while the unit gain in was The Wendy's chain also continued to build on its reputation as having a more healthful and diverse menu than its rivals, and it concentrated on such improvements as cutting the time that a customer spent in the drive-through line by 25 percent.

Another key initiative in the late s was the extension of the hours of operation at Wendy's outlets to include late-night dining. First introduced in , the late-night service helped the chain gain market share at the expense of its two main rivals. Backed by heavy advertising, after p. Overseas, the Wendy's chain continued to have difficulty getting established--it simply could not compete with the deeper-pocketed McDonald's and Burger King chains.

Thus, Wendy's pulled out of South Korea in , closed most of its outlets in the United Kingdom in , and then exited from both Argentina and Hong Kong in With the closures of company-operated outlets in Argentina, Wendy's had eliminated nearly all of its international company-operated restaurants, with the exception of those in Canada.

The focus overseas would now be almost exclusively on franchise possibilities. Opportunities for international franchise licenses are especially competitive. While specific requirements will vary from country to country, at a minimum, qualified franchise candidates will typically have:. Meeting these baseline requirements does not guarantee franchise approval or that exclusive franchising rights will be granted.

For further information, email InternationalFranchising wendys. We are seeking qualified investors capable of developing a substantial network of restaurants within their market of interest. Q: What is the minimum number of restaurants required to be developed in a given market? A: The minimum number of restaurants required for development depends on a variety of factors e. In this case, future restaurants may be planned for development, and may already be under construction. Typical costs for restaurants in your region can be discussed during the initial interview.

Q: What should I expect to pay for advertising and fees? These costs may vary based on your area of interest and can be discussed during the initial interview. Is this possible? A: While we assess each opportunity individually, our primary business model is to develop new markets through franchising.