The fast-food chain Wendy’s is evaluating its weakest locations to reverse a sudden decline in sales. The company is collaborating with franchisees to decide the future of these restaurants.
Wendy’s executives presented several options for underperforming stores, including:
Ken Cook, Wendy’s interim CEO, informed analysts that approximately a mid-single-digit percentage of U.S. restaurants might close after the review. With just under 6,000 locations, this could mean shutting down fewer than 300 restaurants.
“When we look at the system today, we have some restaurants that do not elevate the brand and are a drag from a franchisee financial performance perspective,” Cook said. “The goal is to address and fix those restaurants. So in some cases that’s going to mean deploying operational improvements, deploying additional technology or equipment.”
The initiative aims to improve service and unit-volume growth by concentrating on higher-performing locations and the operational health of the overall system.
Author’s summary: Wendy’s is actively reviewing weaker restaurants in collaboration with franchisees to improve sales, potentially closing up to 300 stores while focusing on operational and service enhancements.