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💡CASE : Why Subway's fortune took a downturn ? In 2011, Subway became the largest fast-food chain on the planet. It had overtaken McDonald’s global store count. And it was selling $11.5 billion worth of sandwiches a year. In the past few years, the store count in the US has been slashed by 25%. Its sales have plummeted. In 2019, Subway's sales dropped $210 million from the previous year to $10.2 billion. NOW : Since 2016, over 6,000 Subways have closed. 🔴What went wrong ??? Well, Several factors contributed to Subway's decline !! 🥪 Location: Instead of focusing on location, the company focused on restaurant count. As a result, restaurants opened within blocks of one another, creating competition within the same company. 🥪 Economic Factors: Economic downturns and changing spending habits influenced consumer choices, impacting Subway's sales. 🥪 Changing Consumer Preferences: Consumers began seeking healthier and more diverse dining options, while Subway's menu innovation lagged behind evolving trends. 🥪 Leadership and Management: Internal leadership changes and management issues might have hindered the company's ability to adapt and innovate effectively. #marketanalysis #casestudy #statistics

This week's retail recap: McDonald's opens first CosMc's spinoff restaurant, Amazon tests new grocery subscription service, Panera Bread files to go public again, and Neiman Marcus rejected an offer to merge with rival Saks. CNBC: McDonald’s To Open First CosMc’s Spinoff Restaurant This Week 🍟McDonald's’s announced the opening of its first CosMc’s, the company’s new fast-food restaurant concept in Bolingbrook, IL, with plans to open an additional nine new CosMc’s in Texas by YE’24 https://lnkd.in/e8zRu_6t CNBC: Amazon Tests Grocery Subscription Service for Prime Members 🛒Amazon announced plans to test a new grocery subscription service in three U.S. cities, allowing Prime members to pay a $9.99 monthly fee for free Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods deliveries on orders more than $35 https://lnkd.in/eZuZHmpG CNBC: Panera Bread Files To Go Public Again Through Initial Public Offering 🥪Panera Bread has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the U.S. The company was last publicly traded in 2017, when JAB Holding acquired the company for $7.5bn https://lnkd.in/ee-jmmtq The Wall Street Journal Neiman Marcus Rejects $3bn Takeover Bid by Saks 👗Neiman Marcus Group rejected an offer to merge with Saks, in a deal that valued the company at ~$3bn, according to people familiar with the matter https://lnkd.in/eSqYqYUD

‘chicken-sandwich boom’ Popeyes Overhauls Its Kitchens to Win the Chicken Sandwich Wars: Guests complained that orders took too long, were often wrong : Goal is speedy delivery of sandwich that ‘broke the internet’ average customer in the US only stopped by three times a year, far behind the 18 or so visits paid to McDonald’s “Well, then we’d be Chick-fil-A” biggest-selling chicken chain in the US “We’re hearing these people talk about Popeyes like a special treat” “you want it to be an everyday occasion” More efficient kitchens are key to the goal of boosting restaurant-level profits to $300,000 on average by the end of 2025 from $210,000 last year. That, in turn, is crucial for convincing franchisees to build more stores “It’s not the sexy thing to talk about, but it’s critically important” “You want to make sure that the food is getting to the customer hot. Improved customer satisfaction, speed of service — all of those things drive repeat purchases”

The process, which is in the early stages, is expected to attract potential corporate buyers and private-equity firms and could value Subway at more than $10 billion, the people said. Still, it is possible there won’t be a sale or other deal. Subway, based in Milford, Conn., known for its foot-long sandwiches and quick-service restaurants, has been owned by its two founding families for more than five decades. “As a privately held company, we don’t comment on ownership structure and business plans. We continue to be focused on moving the brand forward with our transformational journey to help our franchisees be successful and profitable,” Subway said Wednesday. Subway’s approximately 21,000 U.S. locations registered $9.4 billion in sales in 2021, up 13% from the year prior as the chain recovered from the pandemic and operational improvements boosted sales, according to industry research firm Technomic Inc. The company had around 37,000 stores around the world as of 2021 and was the biggest restaurant chain by U.S. locations. It became one of the world’s largest restaurant chains by aggressively building new locations but stumbled in the last decade. The chain’s global sales peaked at $18 billion in 2012, declining for years after, Technomic said. Stores closed and franchisees exited from the system, while new sandwich-shop rivals proliferated. A deal for Subway would be a bright spot for M&A, which has been lackluster as market volatility and fears of a recession take their toll. Deal volume dropped 41% in the U.S. last year to $1.5 trillion, according to Dealogic.

This week in the retail sector: Taco Bell and Qdoba to open thousands of new stores, Target rolls out Starbucks curbside delivery, Amazon delivers orders with no extra packaging Bisnow: Taco Bell, Qdoba Plot Thousands of New Locations Across U.S. 🍽Taco Bell plans to operate 10.0k locations in the U.S. in the next few years, as compared to its current restaurant count of 7.2k. Separately, Qdoba Restaurant Corporation announced plans to double its store count over the next decade, aiming to operate 1.5k restaurants by YE’33 https://lnkd.in/eMZd6z67 Cision: Target Begins Nationwide Rollout of Drive Up with Starbucks ☕Target has expanded its partnership with Starbucks, rolling out curbside contactless delivery for customers who order Starbucks through the Target App. The service is beginning its chainwide rollout during Summer 2023 and is slated to be available at all 1.7k Target stores with Starbucks cafes and drive-up service by October 2023 https://lnkd.in/eCmNWmUX The Wall Street Journal: Amazon Wants to Deliver Your Order Without a Box 📦~11% of Amazon packages are now being delivered without any extra packaging, representing the company’s overhaul of its delivery processes to appeal to customers who prefer discarding a lower volume of Amazon-branded boxes https://lnkd.in/eFNs89Ec

TOST - Toast Inc, Reiterating Long Term Buy I spoke about this investment in the past but as a reminder this is the POS restaurant system that you often see when your waiter/waitress collects your order using a handheld device. They provide technology for about everything that a restaurant needs to run their business but they lead with the POS system. They will even provide their customers short term loans to meet payroll or for a new capital investment. Toast held an “investor day” today and it was a solid event. It was slow to get going but it had some great content and was filled with some new things. The stock sold off as I think investors were looking for “improved guidance” and they largely got a reiteration of previous guidance. The stock had ran up after really good Q4 ‘23 and Q1 ‘24 so once it was clear that it was virtually the same guidance the stock sold off. I requested to attend the event in person and got the run around and was only able to attend virtually … disappointing. With that said, it really was an analyst day. Not being at the event, I wasn’t able to network to perhaps get different opinions to help me with my investment perspective. That’s why I try to attend in person. So, for the time being I’m going to slowly add to a rather small investment until I get more clarity. Positives - Some great information on their sales “flywheel” and how it works with their salesforce and referrals from current customers. I recently was in Savannah GA and they had virtually every medium/high end restaurant. Restaurant employees that move from one restaurant to another are totally comfortable with the Toast tools. Owners have much more confidence in the systems knowing every one in town uses the systems. This is not the case in areas where they have a small footprint. It’s a lot harder for a salesperson to win customers in those areas. They also discussed a new “Team App” for their customers' employees. A one stop app for employees to train on Toast, see scheduled shifts, payroll, etc. I can see a nice opportunity here both for the restaurant and for employees. Maybe some advertising revenue down the pipe? Negatives - They talked a lot about expanding into new vertices. First, the Food/beverage category where they have 220K locations vs. 1.2MM restaurants. The solutions that Toast provides here are very different from the restaurant vertical. I don’t understand why put focus on this when they have so much opportunity in restaurants (their words) except that it’s low hanging fruit? They’re barely getting started with their international expansion in the restaurant space. With that said, this is why I would have liked to have networked at the conference to get various perspectives … I might be wrong and this new vertical could provide nice growth, I just don’t know. Linked below is their Investor Day Presentation … It's worth a good review. As always, consult with your financial advisor, I am not one.

Have you ever wondered why McDonald’s, KFC, Subway, and many other fast-food restaurants often choose to open their locations next to each other? Or have you ever noticed the concentration of various jewelry or medical shops all lined up in a row? Watch this video to discover the reasons behind this phenomenon and understand why it’s actually a strategically smart move for both businesses and customers alike. #businessstrategy #competitioninsights #retailmarketing #customerconvenience #marketresearch #businessexpansion #businesstips 

🎯🎯Correct!! It has several strategic reasons mentioned below: ➡️Visibility and Foot Traffic: By locating near competitors, they can tap into the existing customer base and benefit from the high foot traffic that their rivals generate. When people see multiple food options in one area, it can entice them to choose from among those options. ➡️Consumer Choice: Having several similar options in close proximity gives customers more choices. This variety can attract a broader customer base, as people have different preferences and may want to try different brands. ➡️Clustering Effect: When multiple fast food chains cluster together, they create a food destination or "food court" effect, which can draw even more customers to the area. People are more likely to visit when they know they have multiple options. ➡️Market Research: Being near competitors provides an opportunity to conduct real-time market research. They can observe which items on the menu are popular at rival stores and adjust their own offerings accordingly. ➡️Cost Sharing: Sharing a location with competitors can help reduce costs related to rent, advertising, and infrastructure. For example, they might share parking lots or jointly advertise to attract more customers to the area. ➡️Competitive Intelligence: Being close to competitors allows these chains to keep an eye on each other's pricing, promotions, and strategies. This information can be invaluable in adjusting their own business plans. ➡️Brand Association: When people see multiple well-known brands together, it can lend credibility to the location. Customers may assume it's a popular and trusted area for dining. Overall, opening stores near each other can create a win-win situation where customers have more options, and the fast food chains benefit from the collective consumer interest in the area. It's a strategic approach to the competitive market. Do follow Dhiraj Ramesh Panth

“While fellow quick-service chains are searching for answers around traffic, Wingstop is setting records in customer acquisition. The chain’s same-store sales skyrocketed in Q1, virtually all of it fueled by transaction growth. The quarter marked the fast casual’s highest level of new guest acquisition in company history. These customers represent roughly 60 percent of all quick-service occasions, and they had never heard of or tried Wingstop beforehand. They’re higher-income, usually Gen Z or millennial, less likely to have kids, spend more, visit more, over-index to boneless wings, and prefer to engage with brands digitally.” Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dp5t-6SY  #vibe #restaurant #life #restaurants #management #wingstop

Today, we honor the spirit of commitment and determination on #NationalAllOrNothingDay. It's a day that celebrates the drive to go the distance, to strive for excellence, and to give it your all. 💪 At Nuvioo, we resonate with this spirit every day as we continually strive to provide you with the best in restaurant management solutions. Our cloud-based POS system exemplifies our 'all or nothing' approach. We're committed to making your business management as efficient as possible, whether you're in your restaurant or managing from a distance while on vacation. 💯 In the challenging and competitive world of the restaurant industry, it's this 'all or nothing' attitude that sets successful businesses apart. So today, as we acknowledge #NationalAllOrNothingDay, let's apply this mindset to every aspect of our businesses, from menu planning to customer service. After all, giving it our all is what helps us turn visions into reality. 🙌 #NuviooPOS #RestaurantManagement #Commitment #Dedication