Wendy’s is making slow and steady progress on its turnaround plan while up against rising beef prices and budget-conscious consumers.
Executives of the fast-food chain stressed that they are still in the early stages of Wendy’s Fresh Start turnaround plan, an effort to boost U.S. sales by improving the menu’s quality
While revenue increased in the first quarter, higher costs and choosier consumers remain barriers for U.S. sales growth. Most Read from The Wall Street Journal “We are in the early innings of our turnaround,” Chief Executive Ken Cook told analysts Friday. During the first quarter, Wendy’s made progress with its plan to improve franchise performance and shutter poorly performing stores.
Still, sales in the U.S. continued to decline and margins narrowed due to lower traffic and higher commodity costs. Same-restaurant sales in the U.S. fell 7.8%, driving a 6.8% decline in overall same-store sales. Analysts were expecting a 6.4% decline in overall same-restaurant sales.