Wimpy’s is a multinational fast food restaurant known for their calorically dense, Brown Derby dessert and also for their Bender in a Bun. Their current headquarters are located in South Africa. The first chain began in 1934 in the United States, in Chicago, and then less than 20 years later, the franchise expanded to more than 1,500 locations around the world. Their headquarters relocated from the US to the United Kingdom and now to Johannesburg, South Africa.
Since 1954, the number of chains that Wimpy owns has been declining.
It went from nearly 1,500 stores in dozens of countries to several hundred locations in just two or three countries.
With the abundance of all these new fast-food chains, Wimpy’s has taken a hit in terms of sales and the total number of chain restaurants.
Nowadays, there are only about 80 stores left around the country but recently the company has vowed to ‘expand and invest.’
During an interview with Daily Star Online, a spokeswoman from Wimpy’s said: ‘we do have some exciting new plans in terms of continued expansion and an investment program.’
Although the details of the plans are still kept under wraps, what the spokeswoman did reveal was that more information would be disclosed ‘early in 2018.’
‘We do have many exciting plans under development behind the scenes. But these won’t be for public consumption until February – May 2018.’
But some industry experts have some doubts about Wimpy’s comeback. They say that the sheer number of competitors nowadays has increased and their quality has also risen as well.
Peter Martin, who is an expert in the food industry with more than 30 years’ worth of experience said: ‘if they were to do it, I’d be surprised.’
‘I think it’s a very difficult market for them to come back into. It’s always very difficult bringing back old brands – nostalgia only works with old people!’
