Wendy’s Store Owners Calling for Change

Owners of about 760 Wendy’s International Inc. restaurants, upset by a decline in sales, have banded together to push for change at the third-largest U.S. hamburger chain.

The group’s members want Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy’s to introduce more innovative products and revamp advertising, spokesman Dave Norman said Friday.

There are more than 5,000 franchised Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.

The organization is taking root after Wendy’s reported Thursday that sales at stores open at least a year fell for the sixth consecutive quarter, hurt by weak advertising and a lack of new products. Investors including billionaire Nelson Peltz are pushing for Wendy’s to improve results, cut costs and sell the Baja Fresh chain.

“We are a system that has never had a same-store sales decline the length and depth of which we are going through right now,” said Norman, who is chief financial officer of DavCo Restaurants Inc., owner of 157 Wendy’s stores. “A lot of franchisees are struggling.”

Shares of Wendy’s fell $1.40 to $61.60. They have risen 58% in the last 12 months.