McDonald's tried to turn Chipotle into another McDonald's stunning stats about McDonald's. The account takes a fresh look at the relationship between theDenver-based burrito maker and McDonald's, its former partner and major investor. Chipotle spent eight years taking McDonald's money, all the while resisting changes to its "fast casual" dining model. With funding from the industry legend, Chipotle opened hundreds of new stores and built a business that threatens its former partner's market position.By 2006,McDonald's(MCD)had divested its stake, leavingChipotle(CMG)to blossom into a company worth more than $22 billion.Chipotle executives attribute much of their success to doing things differently -- and in some cases, ignoring advice from McDonald's, even aboutsomething as important as the company's name."One of the McDonald's guys thought we should call it 'Chipotle Fresh Mexican Grill,' because the term 'fresh' was such a great term, and Baja Fresh had 'fresh' in its name," Chipotle co-CEO Monty Moran recalled."I remember [founder Steve Ells] had a very non-tactful, politically incorrect response: 'Well, that's a bunch of you-know-what. Why would we do that? It doesn't make any sense.' "
