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Seotember 2006 |
Volume 7, Issue 9, Part 2 |
 Ribs, potato wedges and brownies aren't what you'd normally expect from Domino's. However, the No 2. pizza chain is taking a long look at new side dishes and desserts in an effort to differentiate itself from Pizza Hut and other competitors. Domino's now offers cheesy bread, bread sticks, buffalo wings, Cinna stix, buffalo chicken kickers (chicken nuggets) and brownies while Amazin' greens salads and barbequed ribs are available in some markets.
Still, the majority of Domino's innovation will continue to center on pizza. Among items currently being tested are Brooklyn style pizza (big slices, big toppings), cheesy garlic bread pizza, Triple loaded pizza (triple cheese and toppings), and square pan pizza to compete directly with Pizza Hut. The parent company of Pizza Hut,Yum! Brands, knows the value of non-pizza items. It feels so strongly about chicken wings as a supplement to pizza orders it has opened 800 WingStreet locations, which specializes in wings, co-branded with Pizza Huts. Sister units Taco Bell and KFC also are found in locations alongside Pizza Hut. Sales in the pizza category were up 3.4% in 2005, per Technomic Chicago. Pizza Hut grew 1.2% to $5.3 billion, Domino's was up 4.5% to $3.3 billion and Papa's John's rose 6% to $1.8 billion.
(Brandweek.com, 9/5/2006)
 McDonald's (MCD) is making plans to sell breakfast items such as the Egg McMuffin and the McGriddle pancake-flavored sandwiches from morning until night. Under such a scenario, unveiled this month by McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner at an investment conference, McDonald's would take on the breakfast all-day kingpins Denny's and IHOP. McDonald's is the far-away leader in fast-food breakfast sales. The chain's breakfast items account for about 50%of its sales and the action could add $1 billion in additional sales at McDonald's, according to Technomic, a restaurant consulting firm.
Most fast-foodies currently stop serving breakfast at 11am. All-day breakfast at McDonald's could nudge other fast-food rivals to follow. Improved breakfast sales have been key to McDonald's turnaround and the breakfast segment has been the strongest performer for about three years. Breakfast sales at the fast-feeder took off with the introduction of McGriddles in 2003 and also jumped after the March introduction of premium coffee.
(USA Today, 9/20/2006)
Hotels Extend Smoking Ban
 According to hotel industry insiders, Marriott International's move to make all of its 2,300 properties in the United States and Canada smoke-free by Oct 15. probably will be followed by more hotel chains. It is the largest chain in the nation to adopt a smoke-free policy and it extends to all of its rooms, restaurants and bars. Westin Hotels and Resorts made a similar move for Westin-branded hotels earlier this year.
Smokers are finding that smoking is banned in many places that once accommodated them - not only because of state and local laws, but also because fewer businesses want to set aside smoking areas. Hotels had only a few non-smoking rooms in the mid-1980's but now many of them reserve more than 90 percent of their rooms for nonsmokers. There is also a financial cost for hotels in setting aside rooms for smokers. It is estimated it costs $50 - $75 extra to clean a smoking room every three or four months, using extra carpet shampoos, curtain cleaning and an ozone machine to clean the air.
(Tennessean.com, 9/15/2006)
 CKE Restaurants Inc., the Carpinteria, CA-based parent of the Hardee's and Carls's Jr. restaurant chains, announced that quarterly earnings rose 69% because of increased sales and lower costs on food and packaging. Net income for the fiscal second quarter was $14.2 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with $8.4 million, or 13 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 4.5% to $376 million.
Same-store sales, a key retail measure that tracks sales at restaurants open at least 13 months, rose 4.8% at CKE's Carl's Jr. chain. Same store sales rose 3% at Hardee's. Both Carl's Jr. and Hardee's have benefited from a strategy of marketing oversized, higher-priced hamburgers to young men. During the quarter, Carl's Jr. promoted a Bacon Swiss Crispy Chicken Sandwich and Hardee's featured its Philly Cheesesteak Thickburger.
(Latimes.com, 9/20/2006)
 Casual-dining chains are rolling out an increased number of promotions after witnessing sluggish sales because of consumers being pinched by gas prices and credit-card interest rates having cut back spending. For example, Red Lobster, owned by Orlando, FL based Darden Restaurants, is offering an endless shrimp special for $15.99. Not to be outdone, Olive Garden, also owned by Darden, is offering a "never-ending pasta bowl" for $7.95. Darden executives said the promotions are designed to draw in customers looking for value.
Darden's rival Applebee's is calling on celebrity chef Tyler Florence of Food Network fame to create four menu items that will be available at its restaurants starting this month. The chain will trumpet the new dishes, which include a bruschetta burger and herb-crusted chicken with an Italian county salad, in a national ad campaign. By the end of the year, Applebee's expects to have its menu revamped with 20 new or improved items.
(Orlando Sentinel, 9/25/2006)
 Wyndham Hotel Group announced agreements to franchise or manage 15 Wyndham upscale hotels totaling 2,886 guest rooms in key markets including Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago and for the first time, New York City, a move that would expand the chain to 102 hotels and 26,765 rooms. Wyndham properties also will be developed in the Seattle area; Austin, Texas; Jacksonville and Orlando, Fla; Springfield, Mass.; Gettysburg, Pa; Chantilly, Va; Winchester, Va; and Norwich, Conn.. The deals were all signed in the 11-month period since the company purchased the brand in October 2005.
Additionally, the company's ongoing global development efforts have resulted in a total pipeline of about 790 properties representing 85,000 rooms for its Wyndham, Ramada, Super 8, Days Inn, Wingate Inn, Baymont, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, AmeriHost Inn and Knights Inn as of June 30. Wyndham Hotel Group encompasses more than 6,400 franchised and managed hotels and 533,000 hotel rooms worldwide.
(Hotel News Resource, 9/14/2006)
  
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