Good Week/Bad Week in Branding

Good Week: KFC – Activist investors in the chicken-chain’s parent company – Yum Brands – filed a shareholder proposal aimed at phasing out the use of antibiotics in KFC’s meat supply, noting similar recent moves by McDonalds, Chick-fil-A, Wendy’s and Subway. It’s a logical-but-late move for a company that changed its name from “Kentucky Fried Chicken” when “fried” became a dirty word.

Bad Week: Delta – Computer problems resulting from a server-room fire grounded hundreds of flights and thousands of angry passengers over two days. For those keeping score, this puts Delta into a virtual tie with United in the “race to the bottom” that has become the airline industry.

Worse Week: Macy’s – The iconic U.S. department store brand announced it will close 100 stores by early 2017 due to sluggish sales and increased competition. The move comes after the chain shuttered 40 locations in January of this year and stands in stark contrast to reports of higher-than-expected quarterly profits for competitors Nordstrom and Kohl’s.