Restaurant Brands' sales plunge, but Popeyes soars against all odds
The favorite child wins again... Restaurant Brands International is the parent of Burger King, Popeyes, and Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons. RBI's sales plunged 25% last quarter on pandemic-pummeled foot traffic, even though online sales more than doubled. Once again, RBI's favorite child brought home a stellar report card (the other siblings are jealous):
- Tim Hortons' same-store sales plunged 29%. Timmy usually makes up 60% of RBI's sales, and is the third thing people associate with Canada besides poutine and ice hockey.
- Burger King's same-store sales fell a Whoppering 13%. The Impossible Whopper wasn't enough to save it.
- Popeyes sales jumped nearly 25%. The chicken icon soared on the wings of its viral fried Chicken Sandwich, which RBI calls a "game changer in every way" (#ProudSandwichParent).
Blame the homemade avo toast... The pandemic has us WFH'ing, which means fewer mid-morning breakfast runs. That's why java-brewing, donut-cranking Tim Hortons got hit especially hard. Starbucks and Taco Bell also noted drops in breakfast sales. Even though 93% of RBI's locations have reopened, we're still in WFH mode. That's why Timmy's sales were still down by the end of July, while BK's recovered and Popeyes' soared.
Being a one-hit wonder isn't enough... RBI can't ride on the back of its poster child Popeyes forever. Even in the quarter before lockdowns, BK's sales were barely up 3% and Tim Hortons' were down 4%. That trend is concerning, especially given that Timmy usually accounts for over half of RBI's sales. To grow in the future, RBI will have to revitalize BK and Timmy, just as it revitalized Popeyes with the Chicken Sandwich.