Would You Like A Little Bread With Your Sandwich?
JAB Holding to buy Panera Bread for $7.5B
Panera sells for a premium to long term private equity group, JAB Holding Company. JAB has previously made headlines purchasing other restaurant brands like Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen, Peet's Coffee and Einstein's Bagels, just to name a few. The money part of it unbelievable and logistics of it will be staggering, but being a hospitality point of sale guy I am curious about the POS solution they with take with all of their various brands.
Ten years ago, Panera bought Paradise Cafe & Bakery and replaced the Paradise Cafe's existing AlohaPOS system with their own homegrown POS solution. Today, Panera has spent well north of $100mm on Panera 2.0, their all-in, all-inclusive in-store, online and mobility solution for all things ordering and delivering product to their customers.
I also know that when JAB acquired Einstein's Bagels and Caribou Coffee in two acquisitions that happened almost simultaneously, there was much consternation about what POS to use. In fact, I am not sure they ever landed on a cohesive solution/decision. And in fact if they didn't, now would be a good time to bring POS back to the decision table.
Some have argued that Panera overspent on the 2.0 solution, but I would argue that it worked 2.0 has helped drive up corporate-owned same store sales more than 10% in two years. And as a homegrown solution, they own it all. Lock, stock and barrel. No reoccurring fees and freedom of choice from a hardware standpoint. Yes, there are ongoing dev costs to consider, but with literally thousands of various stores to put the system into beyond Panera, I think it makes dollars and sense.
Hospitality Technology Professional
7ySlight correction. Popeyes was bought by Burger King parent company Restaurants Brands International and not JAB. JAB did recently purchase Krispy Kreme. Einstein and Krispy Kreme do use Aloha.
CEO / President of Mirus Restaurant Solutions
7yEverything is good with owning your own, until it is not. Panera doesn't know what the next disruptive technology will be for restaurants. But, whatever it is, the investors in Panera will have to write the check. People would not have guessed even a few years the importance that EMV and online ordering and delivery commands today. The cost of integrating or creating their own version of the next disruptive tech is also on Panera. It is a risk that outweighs the potential benefit. Restaurant companies don't create their own ovens or fryers. They should not build their own retail solutions.
I can't believe Panera built their own POS. Good lord.