Popeye's 2008 Annual Report Download - page 9

2008 ANNUAL REPORT 7
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Running great restaurants
Delight the guest with a superior experience,
encouraging return visits
To build a strong foundation for continued growth, we have
to delight our guests and bring them back more often. So we
are improving the quality of our operations and focusing on
running great restaurants. To find out how we’re doing, we
ask those who know firsthand—our guests.
Our philosophy is “You move what you measure,” and in
2008 we initiated a Guest Experience Monitor program, or
GEM. While the experience is fresh in their minds, guests
use their phones to participate in an interactive survey. GEM
has been initiated at virtually all domestic restaurants in our
system. A monthly report goes directly to each location so
restaurant general managers and franchisees can see the
level of satisfaction among their own customers.
The strongest GEM scores have been for Popeyes food—
quality, temperature, taste—our strongest suit. Now we’re
working to match those results with improved marks for
service, making the speed, accuracy, and hospitality of our
restaurants every bit as distinctive as our food.
We’re implementing the right operational tools, technologies,
and training across the Popeyes system to help our
operators run the best restaurants possible. We’ve increased
the frequency of our in-restaurant assessments and
initiated a new scorecard to benchmark each restaurant’s
performance on national, regional, and market levels. These
are the tools that will drive improved performance.
And speaking of driving, by speeding service at our drive-
thru windows, we have a major opportunity to better our
guests’ experience and get more sales faster during peak
hours. In 2009, we expect to complete the system-wide
implementation of drive-thru headsets and timers, essential
equipment for delivering speed of service.
Growing profitably
Make money and build more restaurants with
strong returns to every stakeholder
Now more than ever, we are filling a crucial role in helping
restaurant managers and franchisees improve profitability in
their stores. Our “Finding Your 2 Percent” initiative shows
restaurant operators how to improve margins by either
cutting costs or boosting sales. We’ve provided a workbook
for every restaurant operator that addresses every line item
of the Operations financial statement. Our web-based portal
helps in managing food costs, and we’ve implemented a
new process to improve cooking-oil efficiency while keeping
product quality high. We’re also focused on leveraging our
buying power with a strategic supply chain that provides
better pricing for our restaurants.
On the corporate level, we’re managing our finances
conservatively. We’ve tightened our general and
administrative expenditures to mission-critical initiatives
and made debt repayment a priority. Our highly franchised
business model provides a steady cash flow stream with
low capital requirements. It’s a model that yields financial
flexibility and stability for us and our investors, with good
opportunity for our franchisees.
When it comes to building more restaurants, the work we’re
doing to revamp development tools and processes should
improve the returns Popeyes delivers to owners. We’re using
consumer and real estate data to build a sophisticated site
modeling tool for the Popeyes system. We expect this predictive
approach to better our results in the marketplace as we work
closely with our growth franchisees to build new units.
Aligning people and resources
Develop a culture of partnering to deliver
results across the Popeyes franchise system
We are continuing to build a solid relationship with our
franchise owners—one based on trust, honest dialog, and
winning together. Of all the actions we’ve taken, the most
important is collaborating to move guest traffic and sales
while we tackle issues of restaurant-level profitability.
Today, we have a stronger relationship with our franchisees,
as we invest in strengthening the brand and establishing
a firm foundation for growth. We turned to national cable
advertising to engage consumers through better branding
and more menu choices. We also provided new tools and
field operations support to improve the guest experience and
restaurant profitability.
As we align our people and resources to deliver results, we
are focusing on those few big things where we can make the
most difference.
In a year like 2008, when the economic environment changed
dramatically, we remained consistent and stable in pursuing
our Road Map for the Future. I am proud of the entire Popeyes
team for their commitment and impact. I am appreciative of
the efforts our restaurant operators make to bring the Popeyes
brand to life for the guest, day in and day out.
As we navigate through another challenging year, we will
continue to execute our strategic plan with an emphasis on
providing compelling value, improving the guest experience
and strengthening restaurant profitability. I believe that our
superior food matched with greater QSR value and service
will be the recipe for our success. Further, I am confident
that Popeyes will emerge from these times a stronger
brand, delivering consistent growth and quality shareholder
returns. I thank you for your commitment to Popeyes—and to
Louisiana Fast and flavorful food.
Sincerely,
Cheryl A. Bachelder
CEO, AFC Enterprises, Inc.
President, Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen