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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMcDonald's sluggish growth outpaced by Wendy's
time.com / 1-23-14
Of course, even with a few years of sluggish growth, youd rather be in McDonalds position than Wendys, all else being equal. McDonalds yearly sales swamp those of Wendys$27.5 billion to $2.5 billion. But Wendys has been growing its sales and profit, while McDonalds performance has been stagnant. Here are three reasons why this one-time also ran is nipping at McDonalds heels:
1. Premium Products: With low income folks struggling in todays economy, fast food chains have to go after the more affluent in order to achieve sales growth. Wendys has done this by offering a series of limited-time only premium products, like the bacon cheeseburger on a pretzel bun, and the bacon portabella melt on a brioche bun. These premium products can grab the attention of more discerning eaters and get them hooked on Wendys permanent menu items.
2. Service: McDonalds has tried its own series of new menu items, including Premium McWraps, Egg White Delight McMuffins, blueberry pomegranate smoothies, just to name a few. But the slew of new products significantly slowed down service times as workers struggled to deal with assembling them quickly and efficiently. A recent study by the trade publication QSR magazine did a study of how long it took the average customer to make it through various fast food restaurants drive through service. The result? McDonalds experienced its slowest average speed of service in the history of the study.
3. Better Instincts: If your new products are going to slow down service, theyd better be a hit with customers. Most of McDonalds new products from its Fish McBites to a new offering of chicken wings, fell flat. Wendys, on the other hand, put all its chips in a few products, most notably the pretzel bun, which were a huge hit. At the end of the day, success in fast food is going to be primarily about anticipating what will resonate with your customers.
Read more: McDonald's and Wendy's Battle in Fast Food Wars | TIME.com http://business.time.com/2014/01/23/mcdonalds-and-wendys-battle-in-fast-food-wars/#ixzz2rFbCgNVN
onethatcares
(16,168 posts)the difference tween a red head clown and a red headed woman pitching the food.
sendero
(28,552 posts)... have nominally better food than McDs. For example, the buns on their burgers doesn't resemble foam rubber, the meat is a bit more like beef than amorphous blob.
That said I don't eat at any of them if I have a choice.
Auggie
(31,171 posts)Propensity to avoid any risk.
Too many layers of management.
Decisions targeted to maintain stock price, not quality of product
Too much research, not enough instinct.
Logical
(22,457 posts)OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)actually, I wouldn't feed it to my dog. But I eat it. I had a couple of Wendy's new 99 cent chipotle jalapeño burgers for lunch today. It wasn't terrible but I'm not kidding myself into thinking it's "food". It was filler til I get home for supper.
then again, my cousins once talked me into eating a Milk-Bone so what do I know?
Logical
(22,457 posts)Johonny
(20,851 posts)It sort of goes against Ray Krok's vision of the company.