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Arby's achieved same-store sales growth of 8.1% in 2015

Arby's achieved U.S. same-store sales growth of 8.1 percent in 2015 — more than three times the growth rate of a sample of the larger quick service restaurant chains.

February 3, 2016

Arby's achievedU.S. same-store sales growth of 8.1 percent in 2015. The chain produced record system-wide sales of more than $3.5 billion and posted the highest one-year (8.1 percent), two-year (13.8 percent) and three-year (16.6 percent) SSS comps for the Arby's system in more than 20 years, according to a company press release. Arby's has achieved 21 consecutive quarters of SSS growth.

"2015 was a record-setting year for Arby's," said Paul Brown, CEO of Arby's Restaurant Group Inc. "We are particularly pleased with our significant increase in guest traffic throughout the year. Our industry outperformance in 2015 puts us in a strong position to achieve our 2018 goal of $4 billion in system-wide total sales."

During 2015, Arby's opened 69 new restaurants system-wide including 60 new restaurants in the U.S. — the highest number since 2008. This growth was fueled by Arby's "Menu of Venues" approach to restaurant design, which offers an array of architectural options to fit into several types of trade areas and retail spaces, the release stated. The building options include traditional stand-alone restaurants, inline and end-cap with drive-thru formats for suburban shopping centers and smaller footprint designs for urban city centers, as featured in Arby's new Manhattan restaurant, which opened in December 2015.

Other business highlights from the year include:

• Arby's remodeled 179 restaurants system-wide.
• Arby's continued its focus on guest service culture through its Brand Champ program, reaching nearly 70,000 employees from company-owned and franchised restaurants. Arby's Brand Champ training is designed to educate, build trust and empower restaurant teams to instill a "We Make It Right" service culture. The training is an off-site three-hour training experience for all restaurant teams.
• The Arby's Foundation's National Restaurant Fundraiser raised more than $3.7 million to help eliminate childhood hunger in America, bringing the company's total contribution to $76 million for youth-related causes since 1986. Also, Arby's became one of the first food-service members of the Department of Energy's Better Building Challenge (other members include Facebook, GE, Starbucks and Walmart). The company has committed to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent by the year 2020.

"Arby's has tapped into something special — the right combination of great food, excellent service, and breakthrough marketing — backed by a talented and motivated team and franchise community," Brown said. "We have unlocked a powerful recipe for success which is resonating with our guests, and our strategy will continue unchanged in 2016 as we continue to look for opportunities to outpace our competition."

*Source: The NPD Group/SalesTrack Weekly reports same store sales collected weekly from 45 of the larger QSR chains during Q4 2015 ending Dec. 27, 2015.