The Decline and Fall of Arby’s

Unrelenting bad news for the Arby’s fast food chain:

Wendy’s and Arby’s were brought together in a 2008 merger. While Wendy’s sales have stabilized, Arby’s have lagged badly, with one analyst calling its recent sales some of the worst in modern restaurant memory. Arby’s systemwide same-store sales fell 11.5% in the first quarter on top of an 8.7% decline in the year-ago period…

Investors also worry about the effect the steep sales declines are having on franchisees. Wendy’s/Arby’s says about 10% of Arby’s franchisees are struggling with high debt loads, and the company is speaking with their banks and landlords to prevent operators from having to close stores.

If there’s an Arby’s in your neighborhood, it might not be there much longer. There are reports today that the parent company of Wendy’s and Arby’s may soon be bought out.

Meat industry schadenfreude is what life is really all about. It would amuse the hell out of me to see a zillion readers click the Facebook “like” button for this story. (Hi, Mahi!) Link.

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