What Happened to Wendy’s? Death and Fries.

By now, everyone in Columbus knows that Wendy’s was acquired by Nelson Peltz, CEO of Atlanta based Triarc Companies. Dave Thomas founded Wendy’s in 1969 here in Columbus where his original store remained open until March of 2007.

The sale of the company marks the loss of a local institution and the end of an era in Columbus. It also has the folks in Dublin a bit nervous about their jobs.

When a company as large as Wendy’s falters, there may be many reasons why and it helps to be an insider to know for sure. But as an outsider, I would guess that among the things that contributed to Wendy’s losing control of its company were the deaths of key executives–notably Dave Thomas–and a french fry problem.

When Dave Thomas left the day to day operations of the company in the early 80’s the company struggled. Dave was urged to come back by the then president of the company, Jim Near, to a more active role in the company and he did.

Taking a bottom up approach he went from franchise to franchise selling his vision of Wendy’s to the rank and file. He then took the role of the company’s spokesperson where he personified everything that I believed Wendy’s was when I was a kid. He was the friendly old guy–like someone’s granddad–who just wanted to make sure that I got something good to eat.

In 1996 just as Wendy’s was hitting it’s stride, the longtime President and CEO, Jim Near, died suddenly. Jim was the guy who came up with the super value meal.

When Dave Thomas died from a decade long bout with liver cancer in 2002, the company’s loss was complete. They never really recovered.

I think that Wendy’s suffered from a less toxic but just as fatal form of founder’s syndrome where the employees (and in this case  franchisees) identify so strongly with the leadership of the company’s founder that they are unable to continue without the founder’s presence.

In this case, Wendy’s lost two key drivers of its business vision.

The second thing that might go under the radar is the french fry wars, which Wendy’s never engaged in. You know, you tend to lose wars that you don’t fight.

FindArticles - Burger King Launches French-Fry War against McDonald’s.(Originated from Sun-Sentinel, South Florida) Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, December, 1997, by Stieghorst, Tom

In 1997 Burger King fired the first shot when they decided to change their fries. They discovered through their research the importance of french fries.

"One of the things Burger King found," he said, "was that when the perception of the fry improves, it improves the customer’s overall perception of the sandwich." Jaro noted that the new fries require some minor adjustments in preparation — "you have to shake them a little more so they don’t stick together," he said.

So Wendy’s had an opportunity to reset the image and perception of quality of it’s food at a time when Burger King was stepping up to be number one.

Ten years later, I can’t remember the last time I walked into a Wendy’s and had it match up with my expectations.

When I was a kid, Wendy’s was the place we went when we wanted something special. The square burgers were incredible and they even seemed better for you than a stale ol’ McDonald’s burger. The lettuce was crisp, the tomatoes were fresh and the whole burger was juicier than anything I could get an a McDonald’s. I was intrigued by this happy "Wendy" person and wanted to know more about her. It felt like a friendly place for me and I always looked forward to going.

Although "Arby’s" may help the struggling restaurant make a comeback, I have serious doubts about it. And as a new Columbusite, I sympathize with the loss of history that Wendy’s represents.