Coalition of Franchisee Associations

July 29, 2019

Goldman Sachs Agrees With NOA

Goldman Sachs warns that Chick-fil-A is taking a bite out of Wendy’s, KFC, Popeyes
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Deep Thoughts

Apparently MCD investors and analysts are comfortable 
with sales increases driven by menu price increases. 
They must assume McDonald's Operators can take 
unending price increases to buoy up the stock price.
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July 28, 2019

Jonathan Maze on McDonald's Second Quarter Results

"Franchisees’ cash flow, meanwhile, has increased for eight straight months. By May, higher cash flow had already eclipsed last year’s decline in cash flow—a decline that prompted operators to form an independent franchisee association.
Ozan said that “more stability in the restaurants” is helping drive labor efficiency, while the higher sales are improving profitability."
Remodels push McDonald’s sales higher
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McDonald's Q2 2019 Results Transcript

McDonald's Corp Q2 2019 Results - Seeking Alpha
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July 26, 2019

How Much of the 5.7% Sales Increase Was Menu Price?

Management says menu price increases were 1/3 of the increase and their brilliant
initiatives were responsible for the balance. What do McDonald's Operators think?

Higher Prices Drive McDonald’s U.S. Sales Gain as Traffic Lags - Bloomberg
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July 24, 2019

Why Are Delivery Companies So Poorly Run?

These delivery companies seem to be run by people who've never operated a business 
before and who've never seen a restaurant P&L statement.

DoorDash drops policy of keeping tips meant for workers - CBS News
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July 15, 2019

Monday Morning Chuckle

This morning's E-mail included an advertisement from Anchor Packaging who appears to be
an industry leader. Look at all the pretty plastic packaging!

Meanwhile, the environmentalist whackos are hassling the food-to-go industry about plastic straws, cups, lids forks and many other items that provide a pleasant customer experience.
And two little girls in London are getting headlines around the world for starting an on-line
petition to stop the use of plastic Happy Meal toys.

Imagine the headquarters of a major restaurant chain. At one end of the building, in the 
office of "Sustainability" the staff (all pajama boys) are working on changing everything 
about the company's packaging thereby degrading the customer experience.

At the other end of the building, the operations staff is working on the delivery program and are searching for ways to use plastics by the ton to improve the quality of delivered food.

On the top floor the CEO is trying to figure out how to be politically correct and still make
profit in the restaurants. 



Fool Says McDonald's Franchisees Are Wrong

I usually ignore articles from the Motley Fool just because I wouldn't use the word "fool"
when naming my company. But, a friend sent this in and it makes some interesting points.
Please note the writer states that Chick-fil-A is the third largest restaurant chain in the U.S. 
That's by total sales, not locations.

Every time traffic is soft at McDonald's writers and analysts start pumping out articles asking "What's wrong at McDonald's" or "Who will fix McDonald's?" I would ask, maybe doing AUVs just under $3 million a year is the best a 14,000 restaurant chain can do? What would Chick-fil-A be doing if they had 14,000 stores in the marketplace?

McDonald's Franchisees Want War on Chick-fil-A: They're Wrong -- The Motley Fool
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July 2, 2019

Speaking of Former USA Presidents and Fake Food

Mike Roberts was President of McDonald's USA until 2006. After resigning he moved 
forward with his theory that Americans were ready for a "healthier" restaurant menu.

LYFE Kitchen was launched with one store in Palo Alto CA growing to 15 locations 

scattered around the country. The chain went through various ownership structures and Roberts was bought out/forced out somewhere along the way. 

Most of the locations have since closed leaving three LYFE Kitchens operating in Chicago.

The owner says they are doing great but who knows?

Proving once again that the market for "healthier" restaurant food is largely a mirage.


Wikipedia on LYFE Kitchen

Under New Ownership, LYFE Kitchen Lives On - QSR magazine
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