There is a simple reality behind the recent decisions by Yum! Brands and Wendy's/Arby's Group to rid themselves of lesser brands, and that is this: The QSR market in the U.S. stinks right now, and is showing no signs of improvement. QSRs' traditional customer base, men and people with lower incomes, are struggling to emerge from the recession and will do so only slowly. Domestic competition is heavy and, arguably, saturated. So QSRs are looking outside the U.S. to increase revenues and profits. Yum has already established itself as a global company that just happens to have U.S. locations, and Wendy's sees ts future in other countries, too, and neither company has exactly thrived in the U.S. lately (Yum's Taco Bell being the exception). Neither Long John Silvers, A&W, nor Arby's are viewed as having legitimate international growth options, so they're being offloaded so owners don't have to spend as much time focusing on the U.S.