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Wendy’s is closing hundreds of U.S. restaurants as domestic sales slide (www.fastcompany.com)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/business@lemmy.world
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Wendy’s is moving ahead with its plans to close hundreds of restaurants, amounting to between 5% and 6% of its total stores in the U.S., according to its fourth-quarter earnings report.

Published on February 13, the report shows that Wendy’s domestic business is lagging behind its international efforts. Total same-store sales fell 10.1% over the quarter, driven by low performance in the U.S., where same-store sales were down 11.3% (compared to 2% at international locations). Overall, global systemwide sales were $3.4 billion, a decrease of 8.3% from the previous quarter.

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[–] 6 points 9 months ago (4 children)

The convenience of fast food isn’t there anymore; it is not cheap nor is it fast, I don’t recall last time I spent less than $12 and didn’t have to wait a considerable amount of time in the drive-thru lane.

Instead of spending $12 + tax at say Wendy’s, I can spend that at a relatively healthier option like Chipotle. Waiting times are comparable (unless you get there at peak hours)

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 child)

    Chipotle quality has dipped as well. Not as bad, but it tastes drier and drier every time. I feel they must be cutting ingredient quality as much as they seem to be cutting staff. The amount of times it looked like a sweat shop with 1 cook and 1 cashier when picking up food during dinner time was too many. We've found ourselves going less and less.

    Edit: forgot to mention, while they did this, the prices kept getting higher and higher. Saying it out loud sounds like your typical private equity run to the ground and extract value strategy.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    I agree. I do have to note that on my personal experience the quality of chipotle varies by location. For instance, when I travel to affluent areas such as Ft. Lauderdale on the east coast of Florida, I leave chipotle with a bowl that can barely close because of how much they stuffed it and food is pretty decent. Compare that to the local chipotle next to the university where I live and you see a huge drop, food is barely cooked and they treat you like Oliver Twist when you ask them to not be cheap and put an actual scope of rice instead of the half scope they just did.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    You’re probably right about fast food not being cheap nor fast anymore, but I don’t think this is the reason sales are down. That would imply

    1. more chains are experiencing the same drop; and
    2. this happened globally too.

    Perhaps I misunderstood you, and you meant only Wendy’s and only in USA (or there’s other sources saying sales are down for other vendors and/or other countries).

    What are some other reasons sales are down in the US? I’ve heard that the economy is turning K-shaped, and I imagine that’s bad news for fast food chains like Wendy’s, as a minority of rich people can only buy so much food. But this would again mean other chains experience slowdowns. So I’m not really sure

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