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New CEO At Friendly's Wants To Expand, Improve Menu

Harsha Agadi, the new CEO of Friendly's Ice Cream, wants to aggressively expand the 75-year-old brand across the U.S. and overseas from its New England base and double the sales of its packaged ice cream, which is distributed more than 4,000 retail outlets. "My immediate vision is to get this brand across $1 billion," says the CEO of Church's Chicken; the chain currently does $725 million in annual sales.

Friendly's is very similar to Church's, Agadi tells Donna Goodison, which he took to more than $1 billion in sales during his tenure from 2004 to 2009. Both have loyal followings and are "super regional" competitors.

A priority will be to bring back affordability to the menu, including more attractive and healthier offerings at lunch. "I want to invest in the brand and bring much more consistency to customer service and food quality," says Agadi. "Friendly's has a very distinct advantage. Anywhere else in the world, there is not a single full-service restaurant chain whose differentiator is ice cream and treats."

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McDonald's, meanwhile, has named 16-year company veteran Steve Easterbrook to the newly created position of global chief brand officer. His role includes supervision of marketing, menu innovation and consumer insights. He'll also take a leadership role in corporate social responsibility and restaurant architecture, Emily Bryson York reports in Chicago Breaking Business

And Ron Ruggless reports in Nation's Restaurant News that Burger King plans to continue emphasizing its "barbell" strategy of promoting both value and premium menu items.

Read the whole story at Boston Herald, Chicago Breaking Business, Nation's Restaurant News »

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