Word: schuessler
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...months ago, a Nevada woman named Anna Ayala claimed to have found a severed finger in a bowl of chili she ordered at a Wendy's restaurant in San Jose, Calif. The fast-food chain became the butt of every late-night comedian's jokes, and its CEO, Jack Schuessler, faced an embarrassing lawsuit and more than $15 million in lost business, thanks to the unwelcome publicity. Then things took an even more bizarre twist. Authorities in San Jose turned their attention to Ayala, alleging that she fabricated the story and that the finger belonged to an associate...
...situation got so bad that Wendy's had to launch its latest innovation, an entrée-size fruit salad, in February--not exactly when most people are yearning for a slice of cantaloupe--because it knew that McDonald's was launching an apple-and-walnut salad in May. Even Schuessler concedes that archrival McDonald's strategy has been a success. "I give them a lot of credit," he says. "They've really improved the quality of their food...
Having learned its lesson with salad bars, Wendy's is trying to give consumers "choices along the whole continuum of health," Schuessler says. But he isn't willing to go all out in pursuit of the bad-boy burger. (Although the Classic Triple features three-quarters of a pound of beef.) "Every company has to ask themselves, Are you going to be relevant to the consumer tomorrow...
...cold sandwiches. The Frescata line uses high-quality meat and focaccia bread developed with the artisanal bakery La Brea. Wendy's has a financial relationship with La Brea through the Canadian company Tim Hortons, a coffee and bakery chain that Wendy's bought in 1995. That's one reason Schuessler plans to hold onto Tim's, despite pressure from some hedge funds to spin it off. The bread gets its final baking in the restaurants, a technique that Meyer of CSFB says will be harder for other companies to copy than earlier innovations were...
Wendy's is also using the Tim's expertise in baked goods to experiment with breakfast, a category the chain hasn't touched for 20 years. Its first try was a disaster. "It was expensive, and it wasn't portable," Schuessler says. Since that experience left such a bad taste, Meyer says, Wendy's will move cautiously here. The first breakfast items will appear, at the earliest...