A Burger King sign outside a restaurant in Glendale, California.
Robyn Beck | AFP | fake pictures
Sales at the same Burger King store in the US are declining as customers return to their locations to buy Whoppers and chips.
The Restaurant Brands International chain saw its sales drop at the same store in the mid-30s in March, when the coronavirus pandemic led consumers to stay home and cook. But now, even with many of its North American dining rooms closed or offering only reduced seating, Burger King is seeing customers come back and order through its car lanes. He also recently released a meatless breakfast sandwich made with the impossible sausage across the country.
The hamburger chain’s sales trend echoes that of the broader fast food segment, which has recovered more quickly from the pandemic than the restaurant industry in general. Fast-food chain transactions fell just 13% in the week ending June 7 compared to the year-ago period, according to the NPD Group.
Burger King’s sister chain Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen has seen a slight increase in sales growth at the same store. In the third week of May, its sales at the same store in the United States increased by more than 40%. But as the chicken chain kicks off with its best results of the previous year before the national launch of its popular sandwich, sales at the same stores in the United States increased only in the “very high 1920s” last week. . In mid-June, Popeyes started trying the chicken sandwich in Canada.
Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons, the third chain in the Restaurant Brands portfolio, experienced a decline in same-store sales for negative teens starting last week. In the third full week of May, its same-store sales declined in the mid-1920s. About 90% of its locations are open in Canada.
Shares of parent company Restaurant Brands fell less than 1% in premarket trading on Monday.
Restaurant Brands does not include locations that are closed for a “significant portion of a month” in its sales calculations at the same store. “Almost all” its Popeyes and Burger King locations in the United States are open, but other markets, such as Latin America, have seen more widespread closings.
CEO José Cil also said the company will pay all outstanding amounts under its revolving line of credit this week, citing its ongoing business improvements and strong financial position. Restaurant Brands withdrew its $ 1 billion revolver in late March “as a precaution.”
The company will report its full second quarter results in early August.
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