Wendy's Chili

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WENDY'S CHILI
In January 1979,the management of Wendy's International, Inc., a relatively young and
rapidly growing quick-service restaurant chain, was considering adding a salad bar to its menu.
Because Wendy's "limited menu" concept was one of the factors that had contributed to the
Company's remarkable success, management felt that consideration should also be given to the
desirability of dropping one of the existing products from the menu if the decision regarding the
introduction of the salad bar turned out to be favorable. Of Wendy's four basic products, chili
seemed to be the most likely candidate. In addition to being the menu "maverick," chili contributed
the least to total restaurant sales and was also considered to have the lowest profit margin. On the
other hand, Wendy's management was aware that the reasons chili had been placed on the menu at
the Company's inception were, for the most part, still valid.
The Company and Its Products
Wendy's Intemational, Inc. was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969 by Mr. R. David
Thomas. Prior to that time, Mr. Thomas had purchased an unprofitable Kentucky Fried Chicken
franchise in the Columbus area, turned it around, and subsequently sold it back to Kentucky Fried
Chicken at a substantial profit. He then became a co-founder of Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips. So
at the time he founded Wendy's, Mr. Thomas was no stranger to the quick-service food industry.
Although he had been involved with businesses specializing in chicken and fish, Mr.
Thomas's favorite food was hamburgers, and he frequently complained that there was no place in
Columbus to get a really good hamburger without waiting thirty minutes or more. Someone finally
suggested (whether in earnest or in jest was debatable) that he get into the hamburger business and
make his own. After thinking it over, that's just what he did, and he named his new Company after
his eight-year-old daughter, Wendy.... [continues]

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