Strengthening our unit economics
Popeyes franchise owners are the foundation upon which we will accelerate growth of the Popeyes brand. They are our respected and valued business partners, as we are theirs. Our focus now is on making our franchise owners more profitable—helping them increase their sales and sustain and enhance their bottom line so that they can earn compelling financial returns.
With that in mind, we are working closely with franchise owners to identify and secure cost savings and best practices to improve food, labor and overhead efficiencies in the restaurants. We are developing a system to track key profitability measures to help franchise owners compare the performance of their restaurants across a number of criteria to help quantify and analyze opportunities for improvement.
We are investing in additional analytical personnel to provide better business analysis for marketing, operations and development decision-making. Improving the value proposition for Popeyes franchise owners better positions the Popeyes system to grow restaurants more rapidly in the years to come.
Growing from a solid base
In 2007, we opened 124 restaurants bringing our total global restaurant count to 1,905. Today, the Popeyes system is comprised of more than 1,580 restaurants domestically and approximately 320 restaurants located in 24 countries and two territories worldwide. Given the strong acceptance of the unique flavor profiles of our products both domestically and abroad, the Popeyes brand has substantial unit growth potential ahead and we believe that over time, the Popeyes system can more than double unit growth domestically and expand significantly internationally.
Our expansion into Turkey in 2007 is a perfect example of Popeyes international growth potential. In the spring, we signed a franchise development agreement with a solid restaurant operator and developer who opened nine restaurants during fiscal 2007 and has an aggressive growth plan for 2008 as well. Their success in importing Popeyes to yet another international market and the performance of those restaurants to date illustrates the broad appeal of the Popeyes flavor profile and the many opportunities for continued expansion around the world.
Below: Lal Sultanzada
2007 Popeyes Franchisee of the Year
Owns and operates restaurants in New York and Philadelphia
