Opinion > Editorials
Dairy Queen: No need to evolve here
It appears that corporate America just doesn't know when to leave well enough alone. The latest victim of "improvement" may be the local Dairy Queen.
For many of us who have seen a few years go by, Dairy Queen is more than soft serve ice cream. It is a memory of childhood, when a special treat meant a short trip to the local DQ after dinner. Some of us even remember that the chain was advertised as "Dairy Queen, with the curl on top."
As time has passed, Dairy Queens have spread across the country, including the one in our home town. They are often small, limiting their offerings to cones, Blizzards, and Dilly Bars. Another generation of youngsters is growing up with Dairy Queen. And they seem to be doing well. Lines out the door and crowded parking lots are a testament to a good idea that is still viable.
Except if you happen to be an executive with International Dairy Queen and its corporate parent, Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.
Berkshire Hathaway is the investment company of billionaire Warren Buffet. These worthies have come to the conclusion that Dairy Queen needs to, in the words of its Chief Executive Chuck Moody, "evolve and rejuvenate."
The English translation of that is to force local Dairy Queens to move in one of two directions. Choice one is to morph into a DQ Grill & Chill. This is a new line introduced a few years ago with limited success and some outright failure. A franchisee who chooses this would be forced into offering full meal service, including inside table service.
Option two would be to stay an ice cream-only franchise, but in that case the franchisee would be forced to combine with the Orange Julius chain to become a DQ/Orange Julius Treat Center. In either case, a franchisee is on the hook to spend a lot of money. Estimates for upgrading to a Grill & Chill range from $300,000 to $500,000. Even going the Treat Center route is going to cost to change the name, printed materials, equipment, etc.
Not surprisingly, Dairy Queen operators in nine states, including Arizona, have filed suit to block the corporation's plans. This brouhaha is similar to the mess last year when McDonald's, seeking to compete with Starbucks, tried to force its franchisees to sell cappuccinos and lattes.
Apparently when you run your own business as a franchisee, it isn't exactly your business. The pity of it is that the good old-fashioned Dairy Queen works. Evolving and rejuvenating is not necessarily a good thing.
For many of us who have seen a few years go by, Dairy Queen is more than soft serve ice cream. It is a memory of childhood, when a special treat meant a short trip to the local DQ after dinner. Some of us even remember that the chain was advertised as "Dairy Queen, with the curl on top."
As time has passed, Dairy Queens have spread across the country, including the one in our home town. They are often small, limiting their offerings to cones, Blizzards, and Dilly Bars. Another generation of youngsters is growing up with Dairy Queen. And they seem to be doing well. Lines out the door and crowded parking lots are a testament to a good idea that is still viable.
Except if you happen to be an executive with International Dairy Queen and its corporate parent, Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.
Berkshire Hathaway is the investment company of billionaire Warren Buffet. These worthies have come to the conclusion that Dairy Queen needs to, in the words of its Chief Executive Chuck Moody, "evolve and rejuvenate."
The English translation of that is to force local Dairy Queens to move in one of two directions. Choice one is to morph into a DQ Grill & Chill. This is a new line introduced a few years ago with limited success and some outright failure. A franchisee who chooses this would be forced into offering full meal service, including inside table service.
Option two would be to stay an ice cream-only franchise, but in that case the franchisee would be forced to combine with the Orange Julius chain to become a DQ/Orange Julius Treat Center. In either case, a franchisee is on the hook to spend a lot of money. Estimates for upgrading to a Grill & Chill range from $300,000 to $500,000. Even going the Treat Center route is going to cost to change the name, printed materials, equipment, etc.
Not surprisingly, Dairy Queen operators in nine states, including Arizona, have filed suit to block the corporation's plans. This brouhaha is similar to the mess last year when McDonald's, seeking to compete with Starbucks, tried to force its franchisees to sell cappuccinos and lattes.
Apparently when you run your own business as a franchisee, it isn't exactly your business. The pity of it is that the good old-fashioned Dairy Queen works. Evolving and rejuvenating is not necessarily a good thing.
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