Earlier this past summer, Canadian-based Tim Horton’s introduced its new plant-based Beyond Meat breakfast sandwich and Beyond Burger as limited-time offers across Canada. With sales for the meat substitutes running higher than expected, the RBI-owned coffee and donut chain will continue to offer both at most stores in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia.…
After opening new corporate offices and a test kitchen, Krispy Kreme opened a newly designed store in Charlotte a few weeks ago. Their first comprehensive redesign in over 10 years, the new store boasts digital and interactive features along with an expanded menu. Likewise, Tim Hortons unveiled their first new “Innovation Café” on the first…
In a classic understatement, Tim Horton’s owner, RBI held its first ever analyst day this week. In his presentation, Tim’s President Alex Macedo admitted “as we expanded Tim’s south into the US, we did not get the sales levels we expected”. Tim’s currently has about 700 stores in the US, with half of those in…
Tim Hortons sales growth missed investor expectations last week with the company reporting same store sales drop of 0.6%, down 0.3% from the prior year and blaming the drop on bad weather in Canada early in the quarter. Trying to put a shine on that sneaker, CEO Jose Cil pointed to enthusiastic guest reactions to…
The only Tim Horton’s franchisee in Minnesota filed suit against the brand and its parent, Restaurant Brands International, last week in US District Court. The franchisee, Tim-Minn, had planned to open 280 stores in the state, but in its lawsuit, claims the brand used false and misleading information to attract Tim-Minn participation. According to the…
Two years after Don Fox became CEO of Firehouse Subs in 2003, he did something most franchise owners wouldn’t dream of: he encouraged franchisees to gather and form an independent franchisee association, and pledged the brand would recognize it. Ten years later, he made another move that might raise an eyebrow: he added four franchisee…
The tong war between Tim Horton’s and its own franchisees continued in a big way this past week with the RBI-owned brand moving against a franchisee in Cape Bretton and stripping the franchise owner of his 4 franchises. The franchisor claimed that franchisee David Hughes, who also happens to serve as the head of the…
The rough run that Tim Horton franchisees have been experiencing (with lawsuits against the brand and such) didn’t abate at all this week as Hortons announced it had reached agreement with a franchisee to close 4 stores in Cincinnati. The Canadian coffee & donut chain also closed a store in Indianapolis recently and dropped plans…
If it continues, we might make this a regular weekly feature in Small Regular No Sugar! Last week, we advised of a lawsuit filed by a number of Tim Horton franchisees in the United States challenging the franchisor over unreasonable costs for food and supplies. That challenge is ongoing. This week, we also learn 7-Eleven…
More angst in the Great White North (Franchisee Association, that is) as Tim Hortons US franchisees have filed suit against the Canadian coffee and donut chain alleging unreasonable charges for food and supplies. Tim Horton’s owns the supply chain and is alleged by the owners to be charging considerably more than other brands. The franchisees’…