Popeye's 2004 Annual Report Download - page 7

5
What were the top five accomplishments for Popeyes
in 2004?
First and foremost was the addition of incremental resources in
the field to support field operations and franchisee businesses. We
increased our field-based operations and marketing resources by
approximately 200 percent and moved to a decentralized organiza-
tion with three regions. Our team members now live in the markets
they serve, which has improved communication between the
franchisees and the support team. Second, we returned to
marketing that highlights our food and our flavor — the things
our customers told us were important. This shift, in my opinion,
was a major factor in the positive results we garnered the last
half of the year. Third, the brand made major reductions in
development costs. Initial efforts led to a cost reduction in new
units of approximately $100,000 depending upon the building
type, and a reduction in the average cost to re-image a unit of
21 percent to 36 percent. Fourth, we added new senior
leadership in both franchise and company operations, a vice
president of menu development, a new chief development
officer, and a new chief marketing officer. And lastly, and
maybe most important of all, we aligned the entire service
center team around the initiatives that are most important to the
company and our franchisees. This transformation continues to be a work in
progress, but we have already seen a tremendous acceleration in the ability
to work together as a single, unified organization.
Do you believe Popeyes can compete in the QSR arena better than
its counterparts?
Definitely. We have a highly definable and distinctive brand position. Our
customers truly believe that our New Orleans heritage makes our food
better. It provides us better credibility around our flavor and taste and the
products that we serve. We have something meaningful that customers
recognize, we own it, and it creates a distinctive positioning. This becomes
a major advantage when we tell customers why we are superior to other
brands in the larger QSR arena — not just chicken QSRs.
What are you doing to leverage the uniqueness of the
Popeyes brand?
We have to be mindful that we have been given a gift by our customers — the
credibility around our New Orleans heritage. We have to be very clear as we
talk to customers that we value that heritage as much as they do. Through
our marketing and in-store communications, we must make sure that we are
using that message as an underlying theme for everything we do. Just as
important, however, is the operational element. When you think of the New
Orleans heritage around the food, there is also a “southern genteelness” that
has to do with the quality of the customer interaction. We have to be able to
execute that interaction every time a customer walks through the door of a
Popeyes restaurant.
Increased and decentralized field-based operations
and marketing resources to improve service and
communication between franchisees and support team
Returned to food-focused marketing – highlighting our
food and our unique flavor superiority
Reduced development costs for new units by 10 percent
and re-imaging expenses by approximately 30 percent
Built a new senior management team to execute and
accelerate our overall business growth strategy
Aligned the entire service center team to drive sales
and profitability
Top 2004 Accomplishments