News

A&W announces 8 straight years of same-store sales growth

Photo: A&W

February 11, 2020

A&W said its same-store sales grew 2.7% last year, the eighth consecutive year of growth for the Lexington, Kentucky-based brand, according to a news release. The company said in the last 14 months it has opened nine stores as part of the more than 70 stores it has opened since being acquired from Yum Brands, with unit volumes up 38% in that same period. 

According to CEO Kevin Bazner, one of the factors driving A&W's success is its strategy to develop single-brand restaurants. Under previous ownership groups, many locations were co-branded with A&Ws and other quick-service concepts. 

"We have franchise partners who continue to operate successful co-branded restaurants, and we are continuing to provide support for those restaurants," Bazner said in the release.  "However, we now are only building single-brand A&Ws. The results show we are on the right path." 

Along with building freestanding and inline restaurants with drive-thrus, A&W will continue to develop convenience store and travel center locations, the news release said. 

"Our total unit count is declining, but the number of stand-alone A&Ws has stabilized and, in fact, is growing. Our system is much stronger. Our franchisees are more profitable and we have a healthy pipeline of new restaurants in place," Bazner said. 

A&W said it expects to open 15 locations this year, along with growth continuing in Asia and its Malaysian franchisee recently announcing plans to open 20 restaurants this year. There are currently 374 A&Ws in Southeast Asia. 

Today, the brand has a total of more than 900 restaurants worldwide, with approximately 570 in the U.S.