In 2012, Chick-fil-A’s CEO Dan Cathy spoke out against gay marriage which brought a heated battle between the LGBT community and the fried chicken chain. Even though many of the stores were picketed, sales continued to increase.
It’s been two years since Cathy’s comment and now he’s changing his tone. Instead of publicly commenting on his beliefs, Cathy has concluded its best to allow this type of discussion to remain within the realms of politics. The company is seeking to broaden its horizons and wants to be a place whereby people can be comfortable to work and eat. With that said, the mindset is ‘out with the old and in with the cool.’
You need to know that Chick-fil-A is moving into the ‘Millennial-driven urban areas’ which means expanding to areas outside of the south such as Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Because of the trend that’s happening in these areas, a much broader perspective is needed to compete.
With Chick-fil-A known for its fried chicken, sources have said, ‘the national growth is about to go into overdrive — and it has a huge, new product platform behind it. Its biggest-ever new product roll-out will be announced Tuesday: a Millennial-targeting grilled chicken line for which the company has spent the past 12 years testing more than 1,000 grilled chicken recipes and developing such super-secret grilling equipment.’
In addition, the company announced that it plans to sell only antibiotic-free chicken in the next five years.
The good news is that Chick-fil-A can put aside Cathy’s comments. By focusing more on its new venture, the company can continue bringing in profits and succeeding in the chicken business. As the new ‘King’ of fried chicken surpassing KFC, Chick-fil-A is looking to add more to its standards.
Concentrating its efforts near big box retailers and inside suburban malls in the past, Chick-fil-A wants to focus on ‘big cities and big-city dwellers.’ Without a doubt, there will be many changes at the fast-food chain.
Source: USA Today
Dr. Sinclair Grey III is a speaker, activist, author of (5) books, business consultant, life coach, and liberator of persons from all intellectual, social and cultural walks of life. He is a committed advocate for change. Email: drgrey@sinclairgrey.org. Follow him on Twitter @drsinclairgrey. Visit his website: www.sinclairgrey.org
