Chick-fil-A Case Study

Part I: Background Information

Chick-fil-A

It all began in 1946, when Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant, The Dwarf Grill, in

Hapeville, Georgia. The Dwarf Grill, Truett’s original and later named the Dwarf House, offers

an extensive menu and provides customers a choice of table service, walk-up counter service or a

drive-thru window. 11 Chick-fil-A Dwarf House restaurants are currently operated in the metro

Atlanta area today. Credited with inventing Chick-fil-A’s boneless breast chicken sandwich,

Cathy founded Chick-fil-A, Inc. in the early 1960s and pioneered the establishment of

restaurants in shopping malls with the opening of the first Chick-fil-A Restaurant at a mall in

suburban Atlanta in 1967. Their mission is to “Be America’s Best Quick-Service Restaurant,”

and that they proved to be. Since Chick-fil-A’s launch, they have steadily grown to become the

second largest quick service chicken restaurant in the United States, with over 1,615 locations in

39 states as well as in Washington D.C while remaining one of the nation’s largest privately held

restaurant chains. Sales for the company reached an all time high in 2011 at $4.1 billion which

reflects a 13.08 percent increase over the chain’s 2010 performance and a same-store sales

increase of 7 percent. To achieve this success, Chick-fil-A focuses on following a few simple

rules: listen to the customer, focus on getting better before trying to get bigger, put emphasis on

quality. Chick-fil-A has an established licensing program which began in 1992 with the opening

of their first licensed Chick-fil-A Restaurant in Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta,

Georgia which enables licensees to serve their food in settings such as college campuses,

hospitals, airports, and businesses and industry locations. There are approximately 225 licensed

locations today. “Since Chick-fil-A’s ‘Eat Mor Chikin’ campaign began in 1995, chain-wide
sales have increased six-fold. The chain has turned the theme into a fully integrated marketing

program, which includes store point-of purchase materials, promotions, radio and television

advertising, and clothing and merchandise sales.” There’s also that one, very well known fact

about Chick-fil-A… They’re closed on Sundays. Founder Truett Cathy made the decision to

close on Sundays in 1946 when he opened his first restaurant, The Dwarf Grill. He shares that

his decision is as much practical as spiritual and believes all franchised Chick-fil-A operators and

restaurant employees should have an opportunity to rest, spend time with family and friends, and

worship if they choose to do so. It’s also included as part of their recipe for success (Chick-fil-A,

2012).

Part II: Problem

But is it really part of Chick-fil-A’s recipe for success or a recipe for disaster? In a recent

interview, Cathy told the Baptist Press that the company supports the “traditional family” and

“the biblical definition of the family unit,” which is causing quite an uproar for the company

(Barbara, Roy & Tourtellotte, 2012). Although this isn’t the first time Chick-fil-A has been

thrown under the spotlight for the very same controversial issue, it seems as though it’s making

bigger headlines and causing all sorts of backlash this time around. In a radio interview Cathy

stated, “As it relates to society in general, I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation

when we shake our fist at him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a

marriage. And I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude

that thinks we have the audacity to redefine what marriage is all about’” (Covert, 2012). And it’s

not so much the public announcement of these traditional values that are being made clear but

the millions of dollars being donated to the “hate groups.” “Equality Matters, an online

investigative organization dedicated to gay and lesbian issues, last year obtained tax records that
showed that the company’s operators, its WinShape Foundation and the Cathy family had given

millions of dollars to groups whose work includes defeating same-sex marriage initiatives and

providing therapy intended to change people’s sexual orientation.” This led to Carly McGehee, a

New Yorker, to stage a same-sex kiss-in on August 3, urging gays and lesbians to show up at the

company’s 1600 restaurants around the country in protest leading Mike Huckabee, former

governor of Arkansas, to declare August 1 as Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day. It’s even gone so

far as to keep new restaurants from opening across the country. Alderman of Chicago, Proco

Moreno, said he would not move forward on land-use legislation that the company needs to open

a second restaurant in the city and Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston sent a letter to Cathy stating

that his company was not welcome there (Severson, 2012). Around the same time, The Jim

Henson Company, creator of The Muppets, who has provided toys for the chain, quickly cut ties

with Chick-fil-A making this public statement: “The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and

embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over fifty years and we have notified Chick-fil-A that

we do not wish to partner with them on future endeavors, Lisa Henson, our CEO is personally a

strong support of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment received from Chick-

fil-A to GLADD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Defamation)” (Covert, 2012).

Part III: Alternative Solutions

It’s obvious that the Chick-fil-A and Cathy can’t retract any of these statements or millions of

dollars that have already been donated, so what now?

Solution Number One:

Although there is nothing wrong with voicing your opinion, I would suggest that Chick-fil-A

voice their opinions, especially ones so controversial, a little less vocally for the sake and success

of the company in the future. Anyone who has heard of Chick-fil-A knows that they are closed
on Sundays and in my opinion, I believe it should be left at just that. Cathy and his company can

still stand by their beliefs without having to shove it down the throats of their customers (some of

which may now be taking their business elsewhere). It’s a matter of standing by their mission:

“to serve great food, provide genuine hospitality and have a positive influence on all who come

in contact with Chick-fil-A” (Chick-fil-A, 2012). An advantage to this alternative solution is that

it ultimately gets Chick-fil-A out of the hot spotlight and gives time for this recent uproar to die

down. A disadvantage to this solution is that it might not completely stand by all that Chick-fil-A

stands for.

Solution Number Two:

A second alternative solution would be for Chick-fil-A to discontinue making donations to

groups whose work includes that of defeating same-sex marriage initiatives and/or provides

therapy to change people’s sexual orientation. With that being said, by no means am I saying that

they should (or even would) give it to groups whose work does or supports the exact opposite,

but to find other groups or charities to make donations to that would be far less controversial to

the majority of people. There are several advantages to this solution. One being that it would

definitely help keep the heat off of Chick-fil-A. A second advantage being that Chick-fil-A can

still stand firm in what they believe in without the donation of millions of dollars to groups who

are openly “anti-gay.” A third advantage being that there are other charities or groups who could

tremendously benefit from Chick-fil-A altering who their millions of dollars are going to and

lastly, it could possibly draw back some, not all, of the customers they have lost. A disadvantage

to this would be the potential of upsetting or losing the customers who have strongly stood by

Chick-fil-A and their beliefs.

Solution Number Three:

image. The company needs to choose which comes first, their business or their beliefs and

continue from there. If the company chooses their business, they need to focus on how they can

reach every existing or potential customer in a new and improved way. What’s something fresh

the company could bring to the table (literally)? What’s something they could improve on?

What’s going to draw a lost customer back, if at all possible? If the company chooses to continue

to build their brand image on their beliefs, they need to realize that there is a strong possibility of

losing a large portion of their customer base. Are they prepared for that? Is their existing

customer base enough? Could it damage the potential for new customers? These are all things

that need to be carefully considered when trying to build or change an existing brand image. The

advantages and disadvantages go hand in hand with this solution being that both have the

potential to bring in or push away customers.

Part IV: Recommended Solution

I think a final and best solution would be for Chick-fil-A to take away a little from all three of

my alternative solutions. I believe that by minimizing their voice on controversial issues,

donating to less controversial groups and/or charities, and by focusing on building a newer and

better brand image, will all help contribute to the growth and ongoing success of Chick-fil-A. As

Chick-fil-A recently stated in a press release, “The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in

our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect –regardless of their belief,

race, creed, and sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600

Restaurants run by independent Owner/Operators” (Chick-fil-A, 2012). With that being said and

with my recommended solution in mind, I have no doubt that Chick-fil-A will be able to recover

from this situation and have continued success.

1. Barbara, P., Roy, P., Tourtellotte, B. (2012). Muppets dump Chick-fil-A to support gay

marriage. Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/24/media-

muppets-chickfila-idUSL2E8INM4320120724

2. Chick-fil-A. (2012). Chick-fil-A Response to Recent Controversy. Retrieved from

http://www.chick-fil-a.com/Pressroom/Press-Releases#?release=LGBT-statement

3. Chick-fil-A. (2012). Company Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.chick-fil-

a.com/Company/Highlights-Fact-Sheets

4. Chick-fil-A. (2012). 2012 Chick-fil-A Fast Facts. Retrieved from http://www.chick-fil-

a.com/Pressroom/Fact-Sheets#?release=2012_fun_facts

5. Covert, S. (2012). The Muppets take a stand against Chick-fil-A. Examiner. Retrieved from

http://www.examiner.com/article/the-muppets-take-a-stand-against-chick-fil-a

6. Severson, K. (2012). Chick-fil-A Thrust Back Into Spotlight on Gay Rights. The New York

Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/26/us/gay-rights-uproar-over-chick-

fil-a-widens.html