Content area
Full Text
Carl's Jr. parent still high on signature 'Six Dollar' line as costs threaten to undermine value message
CARPINTERIA, CALIF. - At a time when the intangible message of value is paramount in the quick-service world, one menu item stands out as the poster child for the ongoing struggle to find the right price: the Six Dollar Burger at Carl's Jr.
Also sold at sister chain Hardee's, both of which are operated and franchised by Carpinteria-based CKE Restaurants Inc., the Six Dollar Burger is a big, juicy, 100percent Black Angus thumb of the nose at other smaller and more traditional fastfood hamburger offerings.
The very name of the Six Dollar Burger line, now a signature of the premium-menufocused CKE brands, is designed to convey a trade-down message: This quick-service burger tastes like something that you'd pay as much as $6 for at a sit-down restaurant.
There's only one problem: The prices of some items in the Six Dollar Burger line have come awfully close to $6, raising the question of whether the name will continue to convey the same message of value.
CKE officials say customers are often confused, assuming the "Six Dollar" refers to the actual price, though they're pleasantly surprised to find it costs a bit less.
The issue has prompted an in- ternal debate at CKE in recent months, with some pushing for a name change to "Thickburger," a similarly high-quality burger sold at Hardee's.
For now, however, the company remains convinced that its customers prefer the name as it is, even as prices continue to creep nearer to the $6 mark.
"These days, it really should be called the 'Twelve Dollar Burger, with commodity prices where they are," joked Andrew Puzder, CKE chief executive, who contends that the...