FAST FOOD INDUSTRY The fast-food

The fast-food market in the United States was a growth industry beginning in the 1970s. However, by the 1990s both growth and overall sales in the hamburger segment were declining, while there was some growth in other segments. The top three hamburger chains continued to struggle against the tide, facing declining customer base, sales, and profits. The chains were faced with the need to expand their menus in response to the public's demand for lighter, healthier foods and greater variety. The rapidly expanding doubledrivethru sector seems to be taking over the function that the major hamburger chains used to perform but have largely grown beyond: serving a strictly limited menu of simple food, fast and cheap. McDonald's and Burger King have been exploring new menu items to attract customers. Carl's Jr. is the sixth-place company among the fast-food segment but operates in only four states--California, Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon--though the company plans significant expansion in the Northwest over the next five years. At the present time, 80% of its units are in California. Eatin business plays a bigger part for Carl's Jr. than for most other hamburger chains, contributing 60% of sales. The chain's average annual unit volume of $1.1 million is also on the segment's high side (Casper, 1992, 117).

THE TOP 10 1990 U.S. HAMBURGER CHAINS

Related Essays

The Fast Food Industry .... This, it may be argued, is precisely how Schlosser uses it in Fast Food Nation. The sins of the fast food industry are not hard to identify. .... (1809 7 )

The pizza segment of the fast food industry The pizza segment of the fast food industry operates on low profit margins and in a highly competitive environment. Once the realm .... (8145 33 )

Fast Food Industry & Mad Cow Disease THE AMERICAN FAST FOOD INDUSTRY AND MAD COW DISEASE In late 2003, an American cow was found to have bovine spongiform encephalopathy, more commonly known as .... (765 3 )

The Market Structure of the Fast Food Industry .... The fast food segment of the industry accounts for approximately 33.5 percent of foodservice industry sales, or sales approximating $115 billion in 1998 with .... (9610 38 )

Fast Food Industry and Life Cycles .... The fast food segment of the industry accounts for approximately 33.5 percent of foodservice industry sales, or sales approximating $115 billion in 1998 with .... (5570 22 )

company stores in Northern California and announced that 57 of those units would be converted into franchises. The company then focused its corporate expansion in the southern portion of the state. Though Carl's has grown in total units over recent years, its company stores have declined from 454 in 1990 to 389 in 1993 (Martin, 1993, 1). The Whataburger chain is based in Corpus Christi, Texas and has a strong hold on sales as number two in the market. Another successful regional chain is owned by the Sonic Corporation, operating 1,250 restaurants in 25 states, with more than 600 stores in the five-state Southwestern region. The hamburger market remains the number one segment in Texas, but the share has slipped slightly since the late 1980s. Sales, however, rose from $1.7 billion in 1985 to $2.5 billion in 1993. Another competitor is Red Line, with 55 restaurants in Texas (Ruggless, 1994, 55-56). The management of Carl's Jr. has also tried to enter this same market, and this was part of a failed attempt to expand nationally in the 1980s. What is seen as necessary for such a move is a store with good food, a solid regional base, and a clear public identity. Karcher opened three dozen outlets in Texas, many of them fran

Category: Business - F