Wendy's
- For the Australian ice cream chain, see Wendy's (Australia).
| Company type | Public (NYSE: WEN) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ohio |
Key people | Dave Thomas, Founder |
| Products | Fast food, including hamburgers, chili, french fries, and dairy desserts |
| Revenue | $ 3.635 b (2004) |
Number of employees | 123,000 (2004) |
| Website | www.wendys.com |
Wendy's Corporation is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Dublin, Ohio and owned by the American corporation Wendy's International, Inc. There are over 6,600 Wendy's restaurants worldwide.
The chain is famous for its chili. Also, it is known for its Frosty dairy desserts, the fact that their burgers are square and made from fresh (as opposed to frozen) ground beef, and its making of all sandwich items to order. Unlike most fast food chains, Wendy's historically did not serve breakfast, except for stores in Puerto Rico. Wendy's tried serving breakfast in the mid-1980s, but the endeavor quickly failed.
Wendy's also experimented with "fast-food buffets" in the late 1980's and early 1990's in certain locations. These buffets were reasonably-priced and generally consisted of three "pods": a salad pod, a spaghetti and other hot items pod, and a dessert and other cold items pod. These buffets, while economical and somewhat popular, did not fit into Wendy's fast-food oriented mindset. Most restaurants stopped featuring the buffets around 1998.
Here at wendys we hate our customers. OUr employees job is to drive you crazy. So we mess up your order or never clean the restrooms. We do this because we hate and you still come and give us your money.(losers) We have frostys that we get from K-Mart down the street their horrible we know thats why we serve it to you. We only serve the worst food possible to you since 1999. Sometimes we even put fingers in our chili just to gross you out.Have a great day.
Countries with Wendy's
Aside from the United States, Wendy's has opened restaurants in Aruba, Canada, Cayman Islands, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers didn't last long in Australia nor in Colombia. Nine restaurants were picked up in Victoria by Hungry Jack's in 1986 after the Wendy's Hamburger Chain went bust. The Hungry Jack's Story explains in limited detail about the Wendy's Hamburgers acquisition. Stores in Australia called Wendy's are an Australian ice cream franchise which is unrelated to the American hamburger chain (stores for both are found in New Zealand. See Wendy's (Australia). Wendy's restaurants closed in Greece in 2002 after almost 8 years of operation due to heavy competition from other restaurants such as Goody's and McDonald's. Wendy's also had locations in major cities across the United Kingdom; these were sold to McDonald's in 1999. Wendy's also had 18 restaurants in Argentina. All of them were closed in November 2000. Wendy's had been in the local market for four years and made the decision due to the poor performance of its restaurants. [1] [2]
Advertising
Starting on January 9, 1984, elderly actress Clara Peller was featured in the successful "Where's the Beef?" North American commercial campaign for Wendy's. 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 Wendy's founder Dave Thomas himself. Soft-spoken and cheerful, 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. 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. After seven months, Wendy's returned to an animated 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 (such as The Day After Tomorrow, Mr. Deeds, and Garfield: The Movie) and television and is sometimes seen on ABC's hit reality show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition serving food to the more than 100 construction workers.
Slogans
- 1970: "Quality is Our Recipe" (still on logo)
- 1978: "Juicy hamburgers and lots of napkins"
- 1980: "Wendy's Has the Taste"
- 1981: "Ain't No Reason to Go Anyplace Else"
- 1982: "You're Wendy's Kind of People"?
- 1983: "It's the best time for...Wendy's" (Philippines)
- 1983: "Aren't you hungry... Aren't you hungry?" with napkins wiping face
- 1984: "Where's the beef?"
- Circa 1990: "The best burgers and a whole lot more"
- 1997 - Present: "Eat great, even late"
- 2002 - "It's hamburger bliss."
- 2001 (approx) - Present: "El Sabor de lo Recien Hecho" (Honduras)
- 2004: "It's better here"
- 2000 (approx) - Present: "We don't cut corners" (New Zealand)
- 2000 (approx) - Present: "Wendy's cuadra contigo" (Venezuela)
- 2005 - Present: "Do what tastes right"
- 2005 - Present: "It's Good To Be Square"
- 2006 - Present: "Don't Compromise. Personalize"
See also
External links
- Wendy's official website
- Wendy's Good To Be Square website
- Wendy's Do What Tastes Right website
- Wendy's Philippines
- Junior! The Wendy's Guy - A cashier at the Wendy's in the University of Texas at Austin, who has gained notoriety for his quick fingers and friendly attitude.
References
- 'Wendy's International, Inc.', I Won Careers (2000). Retrieved August 21 2005.