Wendy's 2013 Annual Report Download - page 8

Wendy’s is also a 50% partner in a Canadian restaurant real estate joint venture with Tim Hortons Inc., a
quick-service restaurant chain. The joint venture owns Wendy’s/Tim Hortons combo units in Canada. As of
December 29, 2013, there were 103 Wendy’s restaurants in operation that were owned by the joint venture.
Wendy’s Restaurants
Wendy’s opened its first restaurant in Columbus, Ohio in 1969. During 2013, Wendy’s opened 26 new
company-owned restaurants and closed 27 generally underperforming company-owned restaurants. In addition,
Wendy’s purchased one restaurant from a franchisee and sold 244 restaurants to franchisees. During 2013, Wendy’s
franchisees opened 76 new restaurants and closed 78 generally underperforming restaurants. The restaurants sold to
franchisees were sold as part of the system optimization initiative which is further described in “Acquisitions and
Dispositions of Wendy’s Restaurants” below.
The following table sets forth the number of Wendy’s restaurants at the beginning and end of each year from
2011 to 2013:
2013 2012 2011
Restaurants open at beginning of period ..................... 6,560 6,594 6,576
Restaurants opened during period .......................... 102 101 89
Restaurants closed during period ........................... (105) (135) (71)
Restaurants open at end of period .......................... 6,557 6,560 6,594
During the period from January 2, 2011, through December 29, 2013, 292 Wendy’s restaurants were opened
and 311 generally underperforming Wendy’s restaurants were closed.
Operations
Each Wendy’s restaurant offers an extensive menu specializing in hamburger sandwiches and featuring filet of
chicken breast sandwiches, which are prepared to order with the customer’s choice of condiments. Wendy’s menu also
includes chicken nuggets, chili, french fries, baked potatoes, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, Frosty™ desserts and
kids’ meals. In addition, the restaurants sell a variety of promotional products on a limited time basis. Wendy’s also
offers breakfast in some restaurants in the United States, although Wendy’s announced in January 2013 that it was
discontinuing the breakfast daypart at certain restaurants.
Free-standing Wendy’s restaurants generally include a pick-up window in addition to a dining room. The
percentage of sales at company-owned Wendy’s restaurants through the pick-up window was 64.8%, 65.3% and
65.1% in 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.
Wendy’s strives to maintain quality and uniformity throughout all restaurants by publishing detailed
specifications for food products, preparation and service, continual in-service training of employees, restaurant
operational audits and field visits from Wendy’s supervisors. In the case of franchisees, field visits are made by
Wendy’s personnel who review operations, including quality, service and cleanliness and make recommendations to
assist in compliance with Wendy’s specifications.
Wendy’s does not sell food or supplies, other than sandwich buns, to its franchisees. The New Bakery of
Zanesville, LLC, a 100% owned subsidiary (the “Bakery”), is a producer of buns for some Wendy’s restaurants, and
to a lesser extent for outside parties. At December 29, 2013, The New Bakery Co. of Ohio, Inc., another 100%
owned subsidiary of Wendy’s, supplied 733 restaurants operated by Wendy’s and 2,263 restaurants operated by
franchisees. The Bakery also produces and sells some products to customers in the grocery and other food service
businesses.
Raw Materials and Purchasing
As of December 29, 2013, five independent processors (five total production facilities) supplied all of Wendy’s
hamburger in the United States. In addition, six independent processors (eight total production facilities) supplied all
of Wendy’s chicken in the United States.
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