Carl’s Jr. Talks Tough, Unleashes New Big Mac Killer
“While McDonald’s is trying to convince people that they can make as good a premium-quality burger as Carl’s Jr. or Hardee’s can, we knew we could make a better double burger for less,” CKE CEO Andrew Puzder said in a statement.
CKE also huffs that while Hardee’s Original Thickburger has as much beef as McDonald’s Angus Third Pounders, the Thickburger is 60 cents cheaper. “No one has been able to match our taste, quality and price,” insists Puzder. “The premium burger wars have just begun,” the company proclaims.
But consumers, not press releases, determine the winners of the QSR wars and CKE continues to receive depressing battlefield reports. For the four-week period ended Aug. 10, 2009, same-store sales at company-owned Carl’s Jr. stores were down 5.2% vs. a year ago. Hardee’s sales were down 1.6%. For the fiscal year to date (28 weeks), Carl’s Jr. is off 5.6%; Hardee’s shows a 0.2% improvement. McDonald’s Corp.’s second-quarter U.S. same-store sales were up 3.5%.
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