Coalition of Franchisee Associations

December 17, 2018

Kalinowski on Chick-fil-A

As Chick-fil-A surges, McDonald’s and Wendy’s are under threat - MarketWatch
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10 comments:

Anonymous said...

CFA average unit volume is higher than MCD

Richard Adams said...

Yes, by about $1.5 mill. Last time I went through a Chick drive-thru I was the 20th car in line and my wheels never stopped rolling until I stopped to grabbed the bag of food.

Anonymous said...

It’s easy to be that high in volume when you don’t discount, have that high of an average check, and you don’t have nearly as many units in the same town.

Richard Adams said...

Agree about the discounting and they are certainly not built-out but having the best QSC in the industry certainly helps.

Anonymous said...

Don’t forget operating platform. They have bins in their restaurants. Easy to move cars fast when there is food always ready.

Richard Adams said...

Agree, I often order two of their basic chicken sandwiches and the food is often handed to me before I'm finished paying. But, if one orders their more deluxe sandwiches you wait for a few minutes. Other than the "bin" I suspect their kitchen system isn't all that different from McDonald's.
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Anonymous said...

Not much different then what McDonalds used to be. Stations in the back preparing food to package for a bin. If you call they give you a back of the house tour. At the end of the day, they are what we used to be. Great food prepared to give fast service. And since no one is completely stressed out, they are friendly. We keep saying “our customers” want what we are doing (Modern and Progressive) but “our customers” are flocking to Chik Fil A. So are we really giving them what they want? They have outdated uniforms, outdated lobbies, antique registers. They just make sure service is good and food is what you asked for. And they are authentic. Our vision is misguided. They are acting like a growth company. Listening to “their customers” and giving them what they want. And they know they are giving the customer what they want not because a focus group in a corporate office. But by the thousands of TCs they are gaining every day. We “convince” ourselves that we are growing by showing numbers compared to a declining industry. But if customers don’t come, it doesn’t work. No focus groups needed. Being at NOA reminded me that it’s our history that matters and we are losing sight of what we were. Paul said we need to think like a brand. Is this “brand McDonald’s “ today? We have to keep fighting the fight to bring brand McDonald’s back!

Anonymous said...

They didn't overbuild even in their longest standing markets. It's not rocket science. There are often multiple McDonalds in the same trade area if MCD thinks it's bust enough and they can make a good deal on the real estate. More rent.

Anonymous said...

"They didn't overbuild even in their longest standing markets. It's not rocket science. There are often multiple McDonalds in the same trade area if MCD thinks it's bust enough and they can make a good deal on the real estate. More rent."

this is the fundamental difference. Mcdonalds is truly a real estate company. not really a restaurant. McD corp had the most real estate in the world second to the vatican. not sure if that still hold true, but sonneborn was on to something. Theres a reason early corp didn't make money until they started charging rent plus a percentage of sales.

Anonymous said...

If MCD wants to be a first class company and remain the leader in the industry the deep and frequent discounting has got to stop. We have got to be smarter about discounting. This has always been true.