Wendy's

For the Australian franchise chain, see Wendy's Supa Sundaes.

Wendy's

Current Wendy's logo used since February 25, 2013
Trading name	Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers (1969-2013)
Type	Wholly owned subsidiary
Industry	Restaurant
Founded	Columbus, Ohio, U.S. (November 15, 1969 (1969-11-15))
Founder(s)	Dave Thomas
Headquarters	Dublin, Ohio, U.S.
Number of locations	6,650 stores (2010)
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Wendy Thomas (Corporate namesake) Dave Thomas (CEO, 1969-2002)
Products	Hamburgers Chicken sandwiches Salads Breakfast sandwiches Frozen desserts
Revenue	US$02.431 billion (2011)
Operating income	US$137.1 million (2011)
Net income	US$9.9 million (2011)
Total assets	US$4.301 billion (2011)
Total equity	US$1.996 billion (2011)
Employees	42,800 (2012)
Parent	The Wendy's Company (Wendy's International)
Website	wendys.com

Wendy's (formerly branded as Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers before February 25, 2013) is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company moved its headquarters to the Columbus suburb of Dublin, Ohio in 1976. The executive headquarters was moved to Atlanta, Georgia in late 2008, but in 2011 returned to Dublin, where a large workforce had remained. It has been owned by Triarc (now called Wendy's Company) since 2008. As of March 2010, Wendy's was the world's third largest hamburger fast food chain with approximately 6,650 locations, following McDonald's 31,000+ locations and Burger King's 22,000+ locations. In 2011, Wendy's sales exceeded those of Burger King for the first time in the company's history. With sales of $8.5 billion (USD), the company ranked number two in hamburger chains, although Burger King still has far more restaurants.

Approximately 77% of Wendy's restaurant locations are franchised, the majority of which are located in North America. Wendy's and its affiliates employ more than 46,000 people in its global operations. In fiscal year 2006, the firm had $2.469 billion (USD) in total sales. While Wendy's sets standards for exterior store appearance, food quality and menu, individual owners have control over hours of operations, interior decor, pricing, staff uniforms and wages.

Wendy's menu consists primarily of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries and beverages, including the Frosty, a form of soft serve ice cream mixed with frozen starches. Before late 2011 and as of late 2012, the company no longer has a signature sandwich, such as Burger King's Whopper or McDonald's Big Mac. Instead, the square burger patties (which are fresh ground beef rather than frozen patties) are their signature items.

History

The idea for Wendy's "old fashioned" hamburgers was actually inspired by Dave Thomas' trips to Kewpee in his home town of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Kewpee sold square hamburgers and thick malt shakes, much like the well-known restaurant that Thomas eventually founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969. Within a year, Thomas opened a second restaurant in Columbus, featuring what Wendy's claims in its corporate history was "the first modern-day, drive-thru window", added in November 1970. The Columbus location later added a Tim Hortons and was closed on March 2, 2007, after more than 37 years of business due to declining sales. Thomas named the restaurant after his fourth child Melinda Lou "Wendy" Thomas. Photographs and illustrations of her (as well as other memorabilia based upon her) were on display at the original Wendy's restaurant until it closed.

In 1979, Wendy's was the first fast-food chain to introduce the salad bar. Garden Sensations salads were added in 2002.

In response to a 1986 slowdown in the chain's performance, Wendy's restructured its cleanliness standards, menu and other operational details to ensure that stores met the goals and standards of the parent company so that its franchises would be more competitive in the market.

On April 24, 2009 the company announced a merger with Triarc, the parent company of Arby's. Despite the new ownership, Wendy's headquarters remained in Dublin. Previously, Wendy's had rejected more than two buyout offers from Triarc Companies Inc. Following the merger, Triarc became known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, a publicly traded company. The merger was unsuccessful and Arby's was sold in summer 2011.

Wendy's freestanding unit in Hillsborough, North Carolina. This Wendy's used the mansard-style design with framed corners, circa 1992–2011.

In October 2012, the company unveiled an updated logo, which debuted on its American and Canadian chain websites on March 5, 2013. It is now used for signage for new and updated restaurants, and expanded to packaging between February 25 and late March 2013. It is also currently in the process of expanding to new staff uniforms.

Menu

1976-2013 Wendy's Logo and Wendy's headquarters in Dublin, Ohio

Wendy's offers two different hamburger patties, a "Junior" 2.25 ounce (63.8 gram) patty and its "Single" 4 ounce (113.4 gram) patty. 4 ounce patties are sold in single, double and triple sizes whereas the junior patties sell in single and double patties. The previous size of 2 ounces per junior patty was altered to 1.78 ounce size in 2007 to save on expenses from rising food costs. They then raised the patty size up to 2.25 ounces when Wendy's Hot and Juicy hamburgers were introduced. In August 2011, the Junior Double Stack was discontinued and the new Cheesy Cheddarburger was introduced.

Originally, Wendy's had only two kinds of chicken sandwiches: fried and grilled. The spicy chicken sandwich started out as a promotional sandwich. It was later put on the menu full-time in 1996 due to its popularity and the fact that, compared to most promotional sandwiches, it was much simpler to make (it used the same condiments as the standard breaded chicken sandwich). In the early 1990s, Wendy's introduced the Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich. The product contained a breaded fried chicken breast fillet, a slice of ham, and melted Swiss cheese on a regular sandwich roll.

In 1988, Wendy's was the first fast-food chain to create a single price-point value menu where all items listed on that menu were priced exclusively at 99¢. The menu was restructured in 2007 due to rising costs as the Super Value Menu with prices ranging from 99¢ to $2.00. In 2010, Wendy's introduced the Every Day Value Menu with nine items at $0.99 (eight items at $1.89 in Canada).

Breakfast

In mid-2007, Wendy's began a national debut of its new breakfast menu in its U.S. and Canadian stores. Wendy's first experimented with serving breakfast for a short time in 1985, but the endeavor was unsuccessful due to many issues. While approximately twelve percent of the Wendy's restaurants in the U.S. and its territories have been serving breakfast since then, Wendy's has not had a company-wide breakfast offering. The new breakfast menu was expected be fully deployed to all Wendy's in the United States by the end of 2009, but as of July 2010, many Wendy's franchises across the country still do not have a breakfast menu.

The new breakfast menu differs slightly from the one featured in 1985, and it is structured similarly to its lunch and dinner menu, with value meals and various sides like blended fruit. Menu items include several breakfast sandwiches served on biscuits, Frescuit (a square biscuit to match their square burger patties) and Kaiser rolls, breakfast burritos and side orders of hash browns, muffins and cinnamon sticks. In order to avoid the same issues the original 1985 breakfast offerings faced, the new menu was designed for ease of operation, lower costs and reduced preparation time.

In 2011, Wendy's said the chain plans to change its breakfast menu. Pancakes and omelets have not been successful, because they "aren't conducive to eating on the go."

Menu items

A Wendy's outlet in Manila, Philippines.

A busy front counter at a Wendy's restaurant in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

• Wendy's features French fries as its primary side item (the recipe was modified in 2010), but also offers a number of options for side items including salads, chili and baked potatoes. In several markets the customer may request any of these be substituted for fries in their value meals.
• Frosty dessert – a frozen dairy dessert sold in chocolate and vanilla flavors. The Frosty flavors are also sold as a float. Recently, Frosty Shakes – a Frosty blended with either vanilla bean, strawberry, chocolate fudge, Caramel and Wild Berry Syrups and topped with Syrup and whipped topping – have been served at Wendy's. In 2011 Wendy's discontinued the Twisted Frosty, in place introduced Frosty Parfaits, they come in Caramel Apple and Chocolate Oreo.
• In Costa Rica, Gallo Pinto is available. Gallo Pinto is a breakfast dish made with fried rice and black beans.
• In Japan, Wendy's offered a red bean paste and cheese sandwich called an "An" Burger (あんバーガー anbāgā). They also served several types of teriyaki burgers.
• Big Classic – A sandwich that directly competed with the Burger King Whopper. Mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup and onions served on a Kaiser-style roll. A second version with bacon is available, called the Big Bacon Classic, which was replaced with the Bacon Deluxe in 2009 when the Applewood Smoked Bacon was introduced. The Big Classic is no longer known by any name on the menu but is still available by requesting the addition of three strips of bacon to a single, double, or triple classic cheeseburger.
• Baconator – Single Baconator is one ¹⁄₄-pound patty topped with mayonnaise, ketchup, three strips of bacon and one slice of cheese; Double Baconator has mayonnaise, ketchup, six strips of bacon, two ¹⁄₄-pound (113.4 gram) patties and two slices of American cheese; and the Triple Baconator (1360 calories) is three ¹⁄₄-pound patties with nine strips of bacon, three slices of cheese, mayonnaise and ketchup.
• The Double Stack is Wendy's double cheeseburger that cost only $0.99 at one point. It comes with two 1.78-ounce patties, American cheese, ketchup, two pickles, two onions and mustard on a small bun. It was on the menu in the 1980s and 1990s, replaced with the $1.29 "Stack Attack" for several years, and brought back in late 2008. At one point, the Double Stack was $1.29 in most locations. In August 2011, the Double Stack was discontinued in Canadian restaurants and a new burger called the Cheesy Cheddarburger (sold in America and Canada) was brought in to replace it. The Double Stack is still sold, but is no longer on the $0.99 menu. The Double Stack is now made with two 2.25-ounce patties.
• In December 2006, Wendy's phased out and stopped offering their fried "home-style" chicken strips in all U.S. locations. There is now a chicken club combo in the strips' place, which features a home-style chicken breast with Swiss cheese, three strips of bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. Wendy's also offers the spicy or grilled chicken fillet sandwich, which comes with either honey mustard or mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato. The home-style chicken strips are still available in Canada.
• Outlets in North Carolina and South Carolina offer a sandwich called the Carolina Classic. The sandwich consists of a single quarter pound patty of beef, topped with chili, coleslaw, onion and mustard.
• Most Wendy's offered fried chicken for many years, in 2-piece and 3-piece servings, with side dishes, but in the mid-2000s had discontinued fried chicken, though as late as 2009 it was offered in units in the Philippines.
• On July 9, 2010, Wendy's began serving four salads, including Apple Pecan Chicken, BLT Cobb, Baja Salad and Spicy Chicken Caesar throughout the U.S. Also the Berry Almond chicken and Asian Firecracker salads are available in select areas.
• In February 2011, Wendy's changed the chicken club sandwich to the "Asiago Ranch" removing Swiss cheese from the menu. Mayonnaise was replaced with ranch dressing, and the sandwich is available with the home-style, spicy or grilled chicken.
• In September 2011, Wendy's introduced newer burgers branded under the name "Dave's Hot 'N Juicy". A 4 oz. Thick Cut patty was introduced for premium sandwiches, and the chain replaced 1.78 oz. with 2.25 oz. for Value sandwiches. This was part of the chain's attempt to totally revamp its cheeseburgers.
• In November 2011, Wendy's introduced a signature sandwich to directly compete with McDonald's Big Mac and Burger King's Whopper known as The "W". This sandwich featured two all-beef square patties on a butter-toasted bun along with a signature sauce. This sandwich was not well received by consumers and was withdrawn from promotions in May 2012, and became officially removed from the menu in October 2012, with only a lifespan of eleven months.
• In April 2012, Wendy's introduced poutine to their menu in Canada.
• In July 2012, Wendy's introduced Son of Baconator to their menu as a cheaper, smaller, alternative to the Baconator. It is made with two 2.25-ounce meat patties, four pieces of bacon, two slices of cheese, and topped with ketchup and mayonnaise.

Advertising

After successful early growth of the chain, sales flattened as the company struggled to achieve brand differentiation in the highly competitive fast-food market. This situation would turn around in the mid-1980s. Starting on January 9, 1984, elderly actress Clara Peller was featured in the successful "Where's the Beef?" North American commercial campaign written by Cliff Freeman. Her famous line quickly entered the American pop culture (it was even used by Walter Mondale in a debate with Gary Hart in the Democratic primary election) and served to promote Wendy's hamburgers. Peller, age 84, was dropped from the campaign in 1985 because she performed in a commercial for Prego spaghetti sauce, saying she "finally found" the beef.

Peller was soon after replaced by a much less successful "give a little nibble" campaign, which was in turn replaced by Wendy's founder Dave Thomas himself. Soft-spoken and bashful, the "Dave" ads generally focused on Thomas praising his products and offering a commitment to quality service, although there would occasionally be "wackier" ads as well. In 1997, the company pulled its advertising from the sitcom Ellen after the show's main character came out as a lesbian. Members of the gay community responded with a boycott.

After Dave Thomas' death in 2002, Wendy's struggled to find a new advertising campaign. After a round of conventional ads describing the food they serve, in 2004 they tried using a character they made called "Mr. Wendy" who claimed to be the unofficial spokesperson for the chain. These proved to be extremely unsuccessful. After seven months, Wendy's returned to a campaign focusing on the difference between Wendy's square hamburgers and the round hamburgers of competitors.

Wendy's marketing arm engages in product placement in films and television and is sometimes seen on ABC's reality show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, serving food to the more than 100 construction workers. A recent Wendy's commercial features the tune from the Violent Femmes song "Blister in the Sun."

The company's "That's right" ad campaign that was launched in May 2007 which featured a middle-aged man wearing a red Wendy's wig was unsuccessful, and at the end of those ads showed the Wendy's logo without the "Quality Is Our Recipe" slogan. To avoid the issues the "That's right" campaign faced, Wendy's unveiled a new ad campaign, featuring an animated Wendy that's voiced by Luci Christian highlighting certain menu items. The new ad campaign made its debut in late January 2008, with a new slogan: "It's waaaay better than fast food. It's Wendy's." The company's "You know when it's real" slogan was introduced in late 2009.

One of the chain's newest TV ad campaigns, launched since late 2010 alongside the introduction of the new "Dave's Hot 'N Juicy" hamburgers, features the chain's namesake Wendy Thomas in some commercials. Since April 2012, Wendy's main ad campaign features Morgan Smith Goodwin as Red, as introduced with Wendy's new slogan, "Now that's better".

Wendy's is the official sponsor of ESPN Football Friday every Friday during football season, getting fans ready with shows throughout the day previewing the upcoming college and NFL games. Also, Wendy's is the sponsor of the NBC Sunday Night Football Postgame show.

Slogans

North America

• 1970–Present: Quality Is Our Recipe (this slogan appeared on the Wendy's logos from 1970 until 2013, but is still their slogan.)
• 1978–1979: Juicy hamburgers
• 1979–1980: Hot-N-Juicy (Juicy Meat, Juicy Toppings and Lots of Napkins)
• 1980–1981: Wendy's Has the Taste You Crave
• 1981–1982: Ain't No Reason to Go Anyplace Else
• 1982-1982: "Even late, your mates can ate great shakes"
• 1982–1985: You're Wendy's Kind of People
• 1982–1985: That's Fresh. That's Class. That's Wendy's (Canada)
• 1983–1984: Parts is parts
• 1984–1985, October 2011 – present: Where's the beef?
• 1985–1988: Choose Fresh, choose Wendy's (Originally used alongside "Where's the Beef?")
• 1987–1993: Give a little nibble was to be a catchy phrase that would capture the attention of consumers and help make Wendy's major player on the fast-food scene once again. This television commercial was a flop and sent Wendy's hunting for a new advertising agency. After a poorly received seven-week run, Wendy's pulled the television commercials created by Dick Rich Inc. The "nibble" spots were meant to emphasize Wendy's better-tasting hamburger. They showed customers ripping off chunks of meat from an absurdly large hamburger.
• 1988–1992: The best burgers in the business.
• 1989–1998: The best burgers and a whole lot more (also was printed inside the hamburger wrappers during the 1990s)
• 1992-1998: We never cut corners" (Canada)
• 1996–1998: The Best Burgers Yet!!
• 1997–present: You can eat great, even late
• 1999–2005: It's hamburger bliss. (+ "We Don't Cut Corners" (at least a slogan in Canada around the same time)
• 2002–2005: It's better here
• 2003–2007: It's Always Great, Even Late. (Canada)
• 2005–2007: Do what tastes right. (primary slogan) (this slogan appeared on packaging until late 2011)
• 2005–present: It's good to be square.
• May 2007 – October 2007: That's right.
• May 2007 – October 2007: Uh Huh.
• May 2007 – January 2008: Life's too short to eat round burgers (this slogan appeared on gift cards during the That's right era)
• 2007–2008: Hot Juicy Burgers
• January 2008 – October 2009: It's way better than fast food... It's Wendy's. (US)
• January 2008 – October 2009: It's way delicious. It's Wendy's. (Canada)
• January 2008 – October 2009: Carrément bon. C'est Wendy's. (EN: "Squarely good. It's Wendy's.") (Quebec)
• January 2008 – October 2009: Eat way better, way later
• January 2008 – present: Turn your cold, hard cash into a hot, juicy hamburger (this slogan appears on gift cards sold at retailers)
• October 2009 – April 2012: You know when it's real.
• October 2009 – April 2012: Eat great, real late.
• April 2012 – present: That's Wendy's Way. (ad series featuring Wendy Thomas reinforcing Dave's values)
• April 2012 – present: Now that's better.

• April 2012 – present: Better later.
• 2009–present: "Wendy's, Sabor al cuadrado" (Mexico)
• 2011–2013: Sabor de verdad (Flavor of truth) (Mexico)
• 2013-present: Mucho mejor (Far better) (Mexico)

International

• 1983–present: It's the best time for...Wendy's (Philippines)
• 2000 (approx) – present: Quality is our recipe (New Zealand and Indonesia)
• 2000 (approx) – present: Wendy's cuadra contigo (Wendy's fits with you). The word cuadra (fit) is a reference to the Spanish word cuadrado that means square. (Venezuela)
• 2001 (approx) – present: El Sabor de lo Recién Hecho (The Flavor of the Freshly Made) (Honduras)
• 2007 (approx) – 2009: Wendy's es Sensacional (Wendy's is Sensational) (El Salvador)
• 2008–present: It's not just fast food; it's fresh food, made fast (Malaysia)
• 2008–present: Old Fashion Hamburgers (Dominican Republic)
• 2009–present: Es Muuuuucho Más Que Comída Rapida, Es Wendy's (It's waaay better than fast food... It's Wendy's.) (El Salvador)
• 2011–present: T&T, Meet Wendy (Trinidad and Tobago)
• 2012–present: Aquí está el sabor (Here's the taste) (Puerto Rico)

Global locations

Locations of Wendy's Red = current, Orange = former

Countries with Wendy's

• Argentina (re-opened December 2011)
• Aruba
• Bahamas
• Canada (Opened 1976) (some locations co-branded with Tim Hortons)
• Cayman Islands
• Costa Rica
• Curaçao"Wendy's Around the World"
• Dominican Republic
• El Salvador
• Georgia (opening 2013)
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Indonesia
• Jamaica

• Japan (1980 – December 31, 2009, re-opened December 2011)
• Malaysia
• Mexico
• New Zealand (Opened 1986)
• Panama
• Philippines
• Russia (Opened June 2011)
• Singapore
• Trinidad and Tobago
• United Arab Emirates
• United States
  • Puerto Rico
  • Guam
  • United States Virgin Islands
• Venezuela

Countries formerly with Wendy's

• Australia (withdrew in the late 1980s, all nine restaurants were sold to Hungry Jack's)
• Belgium
• Brazil (re-opening planned for 2011)
• Colombia
• Egypt
• Germany
• Greece (1994–2002)
• Hungary (1994–2002)
• Hong Kong (1991–2000)
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy (withdrew in the late 2000s, due to poor sales)
• Kuwait

• Netherlands
• Northern Mariana Islands
• Oman
• Poland
• Saudi Arabia
• South Africa
• South Korea (1984–1998)
• Spain
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Turkey
• United Kingdom (c. 1980–1986; 1992–2000; one outlet operated until 2007)

Logos

• 

  Fifth Wendy's logo used from 1983–2012

• 

  The updated logo introduced in 2012.

The jar-style frame on the original logo referenced the signature square hamburgers and contour mansard roof façade used on the restaurants. This logo was often shortened without the tagline for signage and advertising. Still exists at many restaurants, and still in use in some countries.^{[citation needed]} Wendy's current logo was launched on October 11, 2012, and debuted on February 25, 2013. The framing, "Old Fashioned Hamburgers" tagline and black swirls have been removed, the illustration of Wendy is re-drawn, and the font is changed.

Formal organization

Since the rapid expansion in the 1970s the formal organization of Wendy’s has adapted to organizational change. This has helped the company stay relevant, especially with the rapid changing of the corporate structure. Wendy’s market strategy is to franchise their restaurants. Franchising provides Wendy’s with a flexible hierarchical/bureaucratic structure. Corporate offices have the responsibility to check up on other franchises, and the franchises are responsible for the hiring of its crew. Wendy’s has a flexible organizational structure because the managers of each franchise can chose their own training methods, pay scale, and promotions. This provides managers with a good amount of flexibility. Some benefits of flexible organizations provide workers with freedom (especially the managers). Also, employees can work on different tasks simultaneously or at different times. The downside, however, to flexible organizations include a more individualistic and less loyal culture. These aspects were quite evident in the Bureaucratic structure of Wendy’s in the mid-1980s.

See also

• Wendy's High School Heisman (student-athletes in various sports)

External links

• Wendy's USA official website
• Wendy's Canada official website
• Wendy's official mobile website
• Wendy's official breakfast website