Convenience Stores Honor Veterans

story first appeared on csnews.com

Sunday marks Veterans Day and convenience store retailers across the country are finding ways to honor those men and women who served our country. Many party story owners have decorated their Walk-in Coolers to honor the event.

Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz Convenience Restaurants will serve all military veterans a free hot dog lunch on Monday, Nov. 12, to commemorate Veterans Day. Veterans will be served from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at all 430 Sheetz locations throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.

Binghamton, N.Y.-based Mirabito Convenience Stores is showing its support by offering free coffee, any size, to members of the armed services throughout the weekend. Industry sources also report that many party store Beer Cave displays are being dressed up for the promotion. The Mirabito Family of Cos. includes Mirabito Energy Products, Mirabito, Quickway and Convenience Express Stores, Old Road Truck Repair and the Rewards Plus customer loyalty program. Its stores are located in Upstate New York.

Manley's Mighty Marts is also giving away free New England coffee (or hot beverage) to all veterans and military personnel on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Also based in Binghamton, N.Y., the family-owned company operates 23 convenience stores in New York State.

In addition, Westlake, Ohio-based TravelCenters of America (TA) is offering complimentary meals to truck drivers who are veterans of the U.S. armed services on Sunday at more than 170 participating TA and Petro Stopping Center restaurants, as CSNews Online previously reported. Some convenience store chains are creating custom Beverage Coolers for the promotion. On Nov. 11, any driver who is a veteran and holds a commercial driver's license can receive a free meal of their choice, up to a $15 value, by showing proof of service prior to ordering their meal at Iron Skillet, Country Pride and other full-service restaurants within TA and Petro Stopping Centers.

Wealthy Take Bigger Helping of Fast Food

The Wall Street Journal

 

The recession whet wealthy Americans' appetite for fast food, a habit that is sticking even as the U.S. economy embarks on a slow recovery.

A new American Express study found that "ultra-affluent" consumers boosted their fast-food spending by 24% in the second quarter, compared with the year-earlier period, while fast-food spending among the rest of U.S. consumers rose 8%.

Wealthy consumers increased their spending on fine dining, too, but not by as much, suggesting that although the economy has shown signs of improvement, the wealthy are trying to hold down costs in certain areas.

"We're seeing a bifurcated behavior pattern, with a lot of affluent consumers still trying to be frugal where they can by spending at quick-service restaurants and discount retailers, but we're also seeing a return to higher-end spending on air travel and luxury items," said Ed Jay, senior vice president of American Express Business Insights, which studied spending patterns among its cardholders.

American Express defines ultra-affluent consumers as those who charge $7,000 or more a month on their cards, and meet certain income criteria.

The ultra-affluent increased their spending on business-class plane tickets by 114% in the second quarter, compared with a year earlier. Rich consumers also boosted spending on cruises, car rentals and luxury hotels. They spent 12% more on fine dining.

For Keith Gutsell, an information-technology risk manager at Northern Trust Bank in Chicago who charges several thousand dollars a month on his credit card and always pays it off, eating at fast-food restaurants helps him feel as if he is being frugal.

 

"Subconsciously, I think I'm saving money by spending less on food, but my spending somewhere else must be going up, because the amount on my credit card is not going down," said Mr. Gutsell, 41 years old, as he polished off an Extra Value Meal at a McDonald's in Chicago's financial district on Tuesday.

Fast-food restaurants have fared better than mid-price and fine-dining establishments during the recession, but times are still tough for most chains. Visits to fast-food chains fell 2% during the year ended July 31, according to market-research firm NPD Group Inc., compared with drops of 3% for mid-price restaurants and 8% for fine restaurants.

 McDonald's Corp., which has performed well during the downturn, in the U.S. has "seen increased visits and spending across all demographics…in the second quarter of this year, versus the second quarter of last year," spokeswoman Danya Proud said.

Wealthy consumers also are ordering more pizza from Domino's Pizza Inc. stores, a trend the company attributes, in part, to new pizza recipes.

"While we were up with all consumer groups, we did see somewhat stronger results with consumers who are more affluent and have higher education levels," Domino's Chief Executive Patrick Doyle said in an interview.

Bad Winter Weather Hurts Burger King 3Q Profit

Associated Press

 

Burger King Holdings Inc. said its fiscal third-quarter profit fell 13 percent on a higher tax rate and bad winter weather that crimped sales, but the performance still managed to narrowly top Wall Street's forecast.

Cautious about signs of an improving economy - as unemployment remains high - the burger chain is working to provide menu items that appeal to both value-driven customers and those who are ready to spend a bit more.

Burger King earned $41 million, or 30 cents per share, compared with $47.1 million, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, whose estimates usually remove one-time items, predicted a profit 29 cents per share.

Revenue for the quarter ending March 31 dipped 1 percent to $596.9 million from $599.9 million. Wall Street expected $597.7 million.

The burger chain continued to push its $1 quarter-pound double cheeseburger during the quarter, while also launching its pricier Steakhouse XT burger line in February.

Chairman and CEO John Chidsey said in a statement that harsh winter weather in January and February hurt its restaurants, but that its U.S. restaurants saw better traffic in March and sequential improvement in average checks, which benefited from the Steakhouse XT burgers.

The Miami company said that an important sales measure dropped during the quarter, with sales at U.S. and Canadian restaurants open at least a year down 6.1 percent - about 3 percentage points of the decline was blamed on winter weather. Worldwide, sales at restaurants open at least a year fell 3.7 percent.

This figure is a key indicator of a restaurant operator's performance because it measures results at existing restaurants rather than newly opened ones.

Last week, rival McDonald's reported rising sales.

Burger King hopes to capitalize on promotions with anticipated summer blockbusters "Iron Man 2" and "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" during the fourth quarter. The company also says it will continue to roll out products for budget-conscious diners and those spending more.

The burger chain plans to debut its BK Breakfast Muffin and Buck Double, while also adding the more expensive BK Breakfast Bowl and the BK Fire-Grilled Ribs.

"In the near term, we are excited about our product line-up that includes a balance of value and premium products that take full advantage of our game-changing broiler," Chidsey said.

Burger King added 37 new restaurants during the quarter. It runs more than 12,000 restaurants in all 50 states and in 74 countries and U.S. territories worldwide.

Taco Bell a Big Hit in India

The Detroit Free Press

 

 

Taco Bell is off to a flying start in India, with its first unit, in Bangalore, averaging more than 2,000 customers a day. That's great news for owner Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM), which also operates Pizza Hut and KFC.

Yum intends to open 1,000 outlets in India by 2015. International expansion is a key focus for chain restaurants, as saturation and a stagnant economy have caused a fast-food slowdown in the U.S.

Emerging markets offer the potential for decades of growth, which is why McDonald's plans to double its presence in China by 2013. (Yum has 2,800 locations in China.)

It's not easy to bring American restaurant chains to new countries, but Yum's quick start in India and fantastic success in China is promising.

Yum's management likens India to China of 10 years ago. Considering that China now generates about 34% of Yum's revenue, the company clearly sees a great opportunity.

Investors should recognize their opportunity as well. Yum continues to position itself to take advantage of emerging middle classes and should enjoy steady growth through the coming decades.

McDonald's Fourth Quarter Profit Rises 23%, Sales Up

CNN Money

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) fourth-quarter earnings rose 23% as the restaurant giant increased same-store sales across all regions despite a global downturn, offering hope for the struggling fast-food industry.

McDonald's also reported stronger results in December, with same-store sales rising 1% in the U.S. after two months of decline, and said trends continued to improve in January, with customers responding favorably to the chain's mix of value and premium items.

Shares of the world's largest restaurant chain rose 1.5% in recent trading to $64.16, and helped lift other fast-food players like Burger King Holdings Inc. ( BKC), up 2.5% to $18.20, and Wendy's/Arby's Group Inc. (WEN), up 3% to $4.78.

McDonald's executives tempered budding signs of improvement with gloomy environment for jobs. Chairman and Chief Executive Jim Skinner said on a call with analysts that until job creation materializes, "we're not going to see enormous pickups or a big change relative to trends in consumer spending."

Still, the chain is taking the downturn as an opportunity to widen its lead in the fast-food market, which it sees as shrinking. It's attracting customers with value, including a new Dollar Menu at breakfast that it is making permanent, and also new snack items, like Mac Snack Wrap - a version of a Big Mac in a tortilla - priced around $1.49.

Unlike some other chains who have slashed prices on existing items, McDonald's hasn't let its low-priced food eat into margins as much as other fast-food chains. Goldman Sachs restaurant analyst Steven Kron noted that McDonald's was able to increase U.S. same-store sales and improve its margins, a feat that's "a pretty rare occurrence these days in" the fast-food industry.

"There's very little not to like here," Kron said. "Traffic-driving initiatives aren't coming at the expense of margins."

McDonald's is complementing the value-items with premium products, like espresso-based coffee and Angus burgers, which are helping avoid having its average check decline. Such a strategy has grown in importance as McDonald's says is losing the ability to raise prices annually, as restaurant chains have typically done to keep pace with inflation. McDonald's says that avoiding price increases helped it add customer traffic in 2009.

"Our consumers today around the world deserve a break," Skinner said.

For the quarter, McDonald's profit rose to $1.22 billion, or $1.11 a share, from $985.3 million, or 87 cents, a year earlier. The latest period included an 8-cent benefit related to the resolution of a 2007 license transaction while currency changes added 7 cents to the bottom line.

Revenue increased 7% to $5.97 billion. Same-store sales, or sales at restaurants open at least 13 months, rose 2.3% globally. The company hasn't posted a quarter of global same-store sales declines since early 2003.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently forecast earnings of $1.02 on revenue of $5.94 billion.