Monday’s death of Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy is not expected to change the Atlanta fast-food giant much — at least not immediately.
In what experts say has been a well-oiled, smooth transition, Cathy last year passed the reins of the family-owned company over to his son Dan Cathy, who became the company’s chairman and chief executive officer. The younger Cathy had already been running the day-to-day operations for much of the past decade as the chain’s president.
That has allowed Chick-fil-A, which had revenue in 2013 of $5 billion and surpassed KFC as the nation’s No. 1 fast-food chicken chain, to pass to the next generation without any wrenching change. That’s important to a brand that has prided itself on stability and staying true to its beliefs, such as keeping stores closed on Sundays.
While Dan Cathy, 61, is expected to continue his father’s legacy, he will make moves to cement his own footprint.
He faces challenges.
Opening overseas stores — there are none now — will likely be on his plate. So will moving with more force into northeastern cities like New York and Boston and keeping the chain up-to-date with the changing tastes of consumers – especially those concerned about what goes in their food.
Dan Cathy’s comments in 2012 opposing gay marriage thrust the company into the culture wars and made it a symbol to some of divisiveness. That led some city leaders in Chicago and Boston to threaten to try to stop the company from opening stores in their cities.
Chicken also is outselling burgers in the quick-service industry, which will put increasing pricing pressure on the company as chains like McDonald’s and Burger King look for sales by invading its territory with greater frequency.
And Chick-fil-A’s faith-based underpinnings is a turn off to some who claim the company discriminates against those who do not share its values or who have opposing opinions. Chick-fil-A leaders deny the accusations.
For fans, however, it helps that Dan Cathy is a true believer in his father’s convictions that faith and business can work together in harmony. That is the guiding influence behind the company’s commitment to customer service, which is generally heralded as a leader in fast-food. Dan Cathy, like his father, believes that good customer service is godly.
Dan Cathy also will not open stores on Sunday. That practice, which has received some criticism from the business community because of the billions of dollars that are being left on the table, has distinguished the chain from competitors since its founding in the 1960s.
In addition, the family scion is unlikely to touch the company’s mascot cows. The “Eat Mor Chikin” campaign, starring spelling-challenged bovines trying to save their hides by promoting poultry consumption, is one of the most successful in history and included in Madison Avenue’s Advertising Walk of Fame.
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