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Welcome ,
Here's your March 22, 2012 edition of Technomic's Foodservice Monitor. We always welcome your feedback. |
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 | Shopping at Club Stores
According to research from Technomic’s Foodservice Planning Program, 37 percent of operators surveyed say they “usually” or “typically” purchase disposables at club stores. | |
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CHAIN NEWS – Performance |
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Sonic Reports Improved Sales and Operating Income
For the second fiscal quarter ended February 29, 2012, system-wide same-store sales increased 3.5% versus the same quarter in the prior year. These sales reflected an increase of 3.6% at franchise drive-ins and a 3.1% increase at company drive-ins. For the first six months of fiscal 2012, system-wide same-store sales increased 1.7% compared to the same period in the prior year, reflecting an increase of 1.7% for franchise drive-ins and an increase of 1.4% for company drive-ins.
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Luby's Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2012 Results
Restaurant sales were $73.4 million, an increase of 2.3%, or $1.7 million, compared to the same quarter last year. Same store sales rose 2.2% at the 93 Luby's Cafeterias, as average customer spend increased 2.9% and customer traffic declined 0.7%. The 93 Luby's cafeteria locations generated $52.5 million in restaurant sales, and the 60 company-operated Fuddruckers and Koo Koo Roo locations produced $20.9 million in restaurant sales.
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CHAIN NEWS – Marketing |
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Sonic Takes Another Look at 'Two Guys' for Marketing Help
After a switch to a new marketing approach failed to cement brand recognition in the customer's mind, Sonic Drive-In returned to an old marketing strategy at the end of 2012’s second quarter: the iconic "Two Guys" promotion. J. Clifford Hudson, CEO of Sonic Drive-In, told investors during the company's second-quarter earnings call yesterday that Sonic returned to the previous marketing strategy because the new campaign "did not have the flexibility of moving across a variety of dayparts and messages."
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Domino's Pizza NCAA March Madness Game Adds to The Big Dance Excitement
Domino's Pizza, the recognized world leader in pizza delivery and Official Pizza of NCAA March Madness, is giving fans another reason to follow the matchups, upsets and advancements of the 2012 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. Since the Second Round, consumers have been selecting their favorites to win through the Domino's Pizza Road to Domination game – and the results are in: Domino's fans are making layups with a 61.5 percent success rate.
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Dunkin' Donuts joins rich media Facebook launch
Celtra Inc., a provider of media advertising and analytics across mobile devices, has announced the availability of Rich Media Post for Facebook, which is designed primarily for mobile platforms and HTML5 browsers, but works across all screens. Rich Media Post gives brands the ability to create branded content on their Facebook pages that their fans can engage with and share with friends. Dunkin' Donuts is among the brands participating in the launch.
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NRA Congratulates Levy Restaurants on VIBE Vista Operator Award
The National Restaurant Association today congratulated Levy Restaurants on receiving the VIBE Vista Operator Award for excellence in responsible alcohol service training. Levy received the award at the VIBE(Very Important Beverage Executives) 2012 conference in Las Vegas last week. The award is sponsored by the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe Alcohol program.
| Restaurant Management 3/21/12 |
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Domino's Australia asks Facebook fans to create 'social pizza'
"Eating pizza is inherently social, but what about creating one? I for one am curious to see what a pizza made by our Dominos fans looks like, a pizza made by the people, for the people," says Matt Barnes, interactive director at BMF Sydney, the agency that created the campaign.
| Pizza Marketplace 3/21/12 |
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CHAIN NEWS – Expansion |
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Spotlights Connection Between Record Performance, Shareholder Value and Company Values at Annual Meeting of Shareholders
The company announced it will invest nearly $180 million in expanding manufacturing capacity in the Southeastern U.S. by building a fifth U.S. plant in Augusta, Ga. and expanding an existing facility in Sandy Run, S.C. These investments are included in Starbucks Fiscal 2012 capital expenditure targets previously disclosed. The new Augusta plant will be Starbucks first company-owned and -operated facility in the world to produce soluble products, such as Starbucks VIA Ready Brew and the ingredients for Frappuccino and Starbucks ready-to-drink beverages.
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Baskin-Robbins Announces Agreement to Greatly Expand Presence in Mexico
Baskin-Robbins, the world's largest chain of ice cream specialty shops, today announced that the company has signed a new master licensing agreement with BRICE to greatly expand the brand's presence in Mexico. The firm's partners each have nearly 20 years of quick service restaurant (QSR) experience in Mexico and plan to develop 25 new locations in the country this year, with at least 50 more stores to follow over the next several years.
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Freshëns Lands at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport
With the announcement of the newest Freshëns additions in concourses T and A at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport, Freshëns continues its strong national airport presence as the category leader with yogurt and smoothies, and now handcrafted crepes. Atlanta’s own Freshens Quality Brands promises the next 90 million annual passengers visiting Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport a truly fresh, natural alternative to normal airport fare with its new hand crafted gourmet crêpe concept.
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Sodexo Wins Foodservice Contract at Smithsonian Zoo
Part of the mission of the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., is to provide exciting and enriching experiences for the approximately two million annual local, national, and international Zoo visitors. As the National Zoo’s new foodservice partner, Sodexo, leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions, will work with the Friends of the National Zoo throughout a 10-year contract to create dining options that are an extension of the Zoo experience and support its mission.
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Mellow Mushroom expands in Kentucky
Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers will open a new outlet in Bowling Green, Ky., on March 26. This will mark the brand's fourth location in the Bluegrass State, in addition to Louisville, Lexington and Wilder. The new location is owned by Bob Holderfield and is located on Chestnut Street in downtown Bowling Green.
| Pizza Marketplace 3/21/12 |
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Get A Blast of Asian Flavors at Asiana Grill Yoshinoya
Yoshinoya America, Inc. announces the launch of Asiana Grill Yoshinoya where customers experience a blast of exotic Asian flavors put together the way they like it. The new restaurant concept of fast-casual dining centers on the customer combining a rich selection of menu styles, sauces, proteins, and sides to create the perfect blend of Asian flavors.
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Saladworks to Open in Tustin, CA
This is the fourth of fifteen total locations planned for California. Sacramento Airport was Saladworks’ first endeavor than followed by Costa Mesa Saladworks which opened in early 2011. These two were followed by Village at Orange Saladworks that opened just a few months ago. The Saladworks brand continues to expand its presence on the West Coast with additional stores opening in Seattle, Texas and Arizona.
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CHAIN NEWS – Menu |
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Smashburger Introduces Flavorful Fresh Mex Burger Nationwide
Smashburger, the rapidly expanding better burger restaurant, today introduced its newest burger to satisfy consumer taste buds – the Fresh Mex Burger – available in restaurants for a limited time only. This smashed fresh, served delicious 100 percent Certified Angus Beef burger is topped with fresh avocado, chopped cilantro, onions, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and spicy chipotle mayo on a Mexican roll, served with a wedge of lime.
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Ignite Your Day with Wendy's New Spicy Guacamole Chicken Club
Spicy chicken lovers, get ready to "rock the guac" with Wendy's® new Spicy Chicken Guacamole Club! Wendy's popular Spicy Chicken Sandwich adds even more flavors with a zesty ranch sauce and yes, guacamole, to create a big, bold tasty sandwich. The Spicy Guacamole Chicken Club starts with Wendy's original Spicy Chicken whole filet that gets its kick from Wendy's own special blend of seven spices, and brings extra heat with a slice of all-natural pepper jack cheese.
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Cousins Subs Beefs Up Cheese Steak Offerings
Bada-bing, bada-boom! Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based Cousins Subs is beefing up its Cheese Steak offering with four new subs featuring 50 percent more meat. The new East Coast-style subs include the original Cheese Steak, the Italian Cheese Steak (formerly known as the Philly Cheese Steak), the crowd-pleasing new Philly Cheese Steak, and the robust Double Cheese Steak. The new Cheese Steaks feature tasty Wisconsin cheese, freshly sliced vegetables, and thinly sliced steak.
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CHAIN NEWS – Personnel |
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Panda Restaurant Group Hires 20,000th Associate
Panda Restaurant Group, the world leader in Asian dining experiences, has reached an important milestone with the hiring of its 20,000th associate. PRG’s mission is to build an organization where people are inspired to better their lives and recently established its 2020 Vision: “To be a world leader in people development to become loved by our guests.” This vision represents the commitment the organization has to both its associates and guests.
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McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner to retire
McDonald’s Corp. said late Wednesday vice chairman and chief executive Jim Skinner will retire this summer and be succeeded by current president and chief operating officer Don Thompson. Skinner, 67, has worked for the Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald’s for 41 years and has served as CEO since late 2004. He will step down June 30, and Thompson, 48, will begin his new role as CEO on July 1.
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Boloco Taps James Lux to Head IT Sector
James Lux is the newest member of the Boloco team, joining the family of globally inspired burrito restaurants as vice president of information technologies (IT). Lux will work from Boloco’s Global Headquarters in Boston, and offer expertise gained from 15 years of experience driving business change through technology. Lux most recently acted as a senior executive developing and managing an IT team for the Unidine Corporation.
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CHAIN NEWS – Technology |
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Ice cream shop using iPad kiosks
Twistee Treat, a QSR chain with 35 locations in Missouri and Florida, has deployed Revel Systems' point-of-sale iPad kiosk system throughout its Florida locations. "I suspected there would be a learning curve with the iPad station, but users just walked right up to the iPad and started ordering as if they had done it before," Corey Balzer, president of Twistee Treat USA, said in a company press release. "The system is very intuitive, and I see it going really far."
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CHAIN NEWS – Legal |
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Fast-food millionaire Jack Cowin looks to put the legal bite on Yum! Brands
Fast-food millionaire Jack Cowin is taking restaurant giant Yum! Brands to court accusing the US fast-food giant of unconscionable conduct. But Yum! Restaurants Australia, the franchisor of the KFC and Pizza Hut brands in Australia, has rejected Cowin’s action, describing it as “farfetched” and “without merit.”
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CHAIN NEWS – Other |
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TCBY dives into retail with pre-packaged frozen yogurt launch
TCBY has announced a licensing partnership with Spring Creek Holdings for a new line of pre-packaged frozen yogurt, "TCBYGrocery," to be sold at approximately 10,000 stores nationwide including about 3,000 Wal-Mart locations, as well as Super Target, A&P, Stop N Shop, Food Lion and Giant. Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, owner of both TCBY and Mrs. Fields Cookies, has a long history of licensing agreements within the grocery market.
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ANALYST CORNER |
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Sonic
We tweaked our fiscal 2012 estimates and now project EPS of $0.55 (up 4% and a penny above consensus). For fiscal 2013, we anticipate EPS of $0.69, up 25% and above consensus of $0.62. While we continue to believe Sonic is getting back to its roots with an emphasis on the concept’s differentiated format and product offering, we suspect that a more?difficult sales comparison in the third fiscal quarter (tied to the benefit of last year’s launch of hot dogs) is likely to constrain performance. We reiterate our Market Perform rating.
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McDonald's
We continue to be impressed by MCD’s ability to innovate and take share in the QSR segment. However, we believe investors need to be cognizant of near-term headwinds given fewer “blockbuster” items, the recent SSS slowdown in Europe on economic uncertainty/austerity measures (region contributes 40% of revenues), the reversal of FX benefits and this year’s G&A increases. We maintain our Hold rating, as we see it increasingly difficult for the company to drive upside to EPS over the next few quarters and believe the valuation fairly reflects these dynamics.
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Sonic
Following the 2Q release, our thesis remains unchanged. On a longer-term basis, we believe that SONC is moving in the right direction in terms of changing its advertising strategy and upgrading its core menu items. However, we would want to see more sustainability in terms of a same-store sales (SSS) improvement before becoming more constructive on the shares. Accordingly, we remain on the sidelines with a Neutral rating at this time.
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Texas Roadhouse
2012 as comps grew 6.7% during the first seven weeks of the quarter. The improvement in sales trends was likely due to a combination of mild weather (likely helped the comp by a couple points) and redemptions from stronger holiday gift card sales in January/February. Based on our research, we believe sales momentum did moderate slightly during the first few weeks of March (weather impact softened, gas prices increased).
| Cleveland Research 3/22/12 |
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INDEPENDENT OPERATORS |
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Fried pizza concept coming to NYC
La Montanara by Forcella is scheduled to open March 28 in the Lower East Side neighborhood of New York City. It will be the first concept in the city where all of the pizzas are fried. The concept is the brainchild of Italian pizzaiolo Giulio Adriani, who first introduced a fried-then-baked creation at his other restaurant Forcella.
| Pizza Marketplace 3/21/12 |
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DISTRIBUTOR NEWS |
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Foodservice distribution company expands network
Consolidated Distribution Corporation LLC, a provider of QSR, fast casual and casual dining supply chain solutions in the U.S., has opened a new Dallas redistribution center to further optimize supply chain movement. It marks the second expansion for CDC beyond its home market of Chicago following the July 2010 opening of a redistribution center in Atlanta.
| Pizza Marketplace 3/21/12 |
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