Wendy’s International, Inc. today announced preliminary same-store sales of 4.1 percent at U.S. company stores and 3.9 percent at U.S. franchised restaurants for its third quarter, which ended on Sunday, October 1.

“Our third quarter represents the best same-store sales period for Wendy’s in two years, as July and August same-store sales were encouraging, and September was strong at 4.3%” said interim Chief Executive Officer and President Kerrii Anderson. “With this performance, our year-to-date same-store sales at company restaurants have turned positive, which is another sign that our turnaround is well under way.

“We also continue to see improvement on the cost side, as we have taken the steps necessary to reduce expenses by $100 million beginning in 2007, and beef and chicken costs are lower compared to one year ago.”

In July, Wendy’s promoted its signature Spicy Chicken sandwich and tested a new 4-Alarm Spicy Chicken sandwich in certain markets. In August, Wendy’s introduced a new vanilla Frosty(TM) dessert. In September, Wendy’s promoted its new Frescata(TM) Italiana premium deli sandwich.

In the fourth quarter, Wendy’s will promote its value menu and new double-melt hamburgers and will introduce re-loadable gift cards for the first time.

“Our strong promotional calendar and new product innovation have been the driving forces behind our recent sales momentum,” Anderson said.
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