News
Dunkin' Donuts, Chick-fil-A enter new markets
April 19, 2010
As the restaurant industry slowly shows the beginning signs of recovery, several quick-service brands have made announcements for domestic franchising deals in new markets.
Dunkin' Donuts has signed agreements with three franchisees to develop 17 new restaurants in South Florida and Jacksonville over the next several years. Dunkin' Donuts' development throughout Florida is part of the company's steady and strategic growth strategy, which includes expanding in existing markets while entering new cities across the country to help drive the leading coffee and bakery chain's growth to become a truly national brand.
Two restaurants will open throughout the state in 2011 with the remaining units scheduled to open by 2017. Locations targeted for development include the following:
- Ten units will be developed in the Northeast Dade, Doral-Hialeah and South Miami regions of Miami-Dade County by MMM Franchising Group Inc., with the first restaurant opening in 2011 and the remaining nine completed by 2017. Marc Weinstein, operating partner, will oversee all aspects of development.
- S. Gordon Restaurant Group LLC, headed up by Stanley and Lenore Gordon, will open five units in Southeast Palm Beach County and Southwest Broward County. The first location is scheduled to open in 2011, and the remaining locations are scheduled to open by 2016.
- Two restaurants will be developed in Jacksonville by existing franchisee John Griffey. One location will open in 2012 and the following in 2013.
"The Sunshine State is a priority growth market for Dunkin' Donuts in 2010, and we're excited to expand our footprint in South Florida and Jacksonville with two new and one existing franchisees," said Grant Benson, CFE, vice president of franchising and market planning, Dunkin' Brands Inc., in a news release.
Most recently, the company added six non-traditional locations along the Florida Turnpike travel plazas in addition to opening 13 locations at various airports and five units at universities throughout the state.
In addition to the development agreement mentioned above, Dunkin' Donuts is targeting other markets in Florida, specifically in Tampa, Orlando and Tallahassee. Opportunities also exist throughout Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, N.C., and Detroit.
To drive its expansion efforts, Dunkin' Donuts has aligned its strategy to support the growth opportunities and consumer needs of individual markets. As a result, the company continues to expand with single and multi-unit opportunities with no minimum unit requirements. The company offers flexible concepts for any real estate format including free-standing restaurants, end caps, in-line sites, gas and convenience, travel plazas, universities, as well as other retail environments.
Historically a donut and hot coffee chain, Dunkin' Donuts has expanded its offering to include frozen and iced beverages, a full bakery assortment including bagels and muffins, breakfast sandwiches, and an all-day Oven-Toasted menu that includes flatbread sandwiches, hash browns and buttermilk biscuits. The new platform marks the most significant change to Dunkin' Donuts product lineup since the company launched espresso-based beverages in 2003.
　
Other donut brands' expansion plan
Rival donut chains also are expanding. Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp. announced the awarding of development rights for 21 Krispy Kreme retail locations over the next seven years in the greater Philadelphia market, which includes southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and northern Delaware.
Canadian-based Tim Hortons is eyeing the United States for aggressive expansion, with development goals of approximately 300 new restaurants over the next three years, focused primarily on existing major regional markets, including New York, Ohio and Michigan. The company also is targeting contiguous markets, with approximately 30 percent of the development activities planned to take place between 2010 to 2013 in markets adjacent to its existing footprint.
Chick-fil-A to open in Chicago
Chicken chain Chick-fil-A Inc. also is moving into a new market. After years of fan requests, the company has officially started construction on three stand-alone restaurants in Aurora, Orland Park and Wheaton, Ill., tol kick off the Atlanta-based chain's expansion into the Chicagoland area.
The company spent the past five years evaluating and researching the local marketplace to identify a healthy list of prospective restaurant sites to further its Chicago expansion over the next several years. In addition to the three locations set to open this year, Chick-fil-A anticipates opening up to six more restaurants throughout the Chicago area in 2011 — representing 10 percent of its overall annual restaurant growth.
Chick-fil-A takes conservative measures when it comes to restaurant growth, opening an average of 75 or more new restaurants annually. The conservative growth model has proven to work for the privately held company. The chain surpassed $3.2 billion in sales last year and achieved 42 consecutive years of annual sales growth, a streak that dates back to 1967 when the chain opened its first Atlanta restaurant.
"Our fans in Chicago, especially the transplanted Southerners, have been telling us for years they crave our hand-prepared chicken sandwiches, made-from-scratch biscuits, hand-chopped cole slaw and fresh-squeezed lemonade, and we listened," said Chick-fil-A president and chief operating officer Dan Cathy. "These loyalists have been loud and clear about their Chicago demands. They have started websites, Facebook and Twitter fan pages and posted YouTube videos as part of their campaigns pleading for us to open in Chicago."
Chick-fil-A's menu includes its signature Chick-fil-A sandich as well as a full breakfast menu and lunch/dinner offerings such as grilled sandwiches, deep-fried nuggets and wraps. The chain will debut its latest innovation, a spicy chicken sandwich, June 7. The spicy chicken sandwich is Chick-fil-A's most anticipated product rollout in 20 years and marks the first new sandwich the chain has added since introducing the Chick-fil-A Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich in 1989.
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