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Shake Shack’s CEO Defends the Term Selling Out

The CEO calls expansion
The CEO calls expansion “fun.”

Randy Garutti, CEO of the Shake Shack empire, will cop to one mistake: They wasted a lot of money trying to open in Nolita, where neighbors aggressively didn’t want them — and it was “painful.” But Garutti won’t bend when it comes to defending Danny Meyer’s mass-market push. He argues that selling out is a misused term — and he might be right. “Companies that grow, and grow well, deserve it.” He continues …

Who would argue that the world isn’t a better place every time Stonyfield Farm produces more yogurt? A dairy farmer can now produce milk the right way, make a living in a tough industry, and their consumers now have healthier options — hardly a sellout, and certainly a great growth story.

Why wouldn’t you want to see Timberland sell more boots when they are great stewards of the environment in which their gear is used?

Why wouldn’t you want to eat at Chipotle when you know they are striving every day to improve the supply chain, support small and local farms, and change the way the world thinks about fast food?

Shake Shack CEO: ‘We Want to Be the Anti-Chain Chain’ [Inc.]

Shake Shack’s CEO Defends the Term Selling Out