Technomic: Canadian restaurant chains grew in spite of sluggish economy

The Top 200 Canadian restaurant chains managed to grow sales by 1.0 percent and increase overall units by a slightly higher 1.3 percent last year, even as the economy just started easing out of the recession. With total sales of C$23.9 billion, the Top 200 Canadian chains accounted for over 50 percent of the Canadian restaurant industry, reports foodservice consultants Technomic in its new2010 Technomic Top 200 Canadian Chain Restaurant Report.

Select findings include:

• Tim Hortons’ continued to lead the Canadian restaurant industry in 2009 with an estimated C$4.9 billion in sales. U.S. quick-service chains, McDonald’s and Subway, ranked second and third, with an estimated C$2.7 billion and C$1.1 billion, respectively.
• The fastest-growing chains with sales totaling over C$1 million were Cora’s Breakfast &Lunch (sales up an estimated 23.9 percent), Jack Astor’s Bar and Grill (sales up an estimated 8.7 percent) and Starbucks (sales up an estimated 7.9 percent).
• Limited-service restaurant chains registered sales growth of 1.8 percent for a total of C$17.1 billion, while growing units by 1.3 percent, totaling just over 20,000.
• Full-service restaurant chains saw sales totaling C$6.8 billion, a decline of 1.0 percent. FSR units managed to increase by a marginal 0.7 percent, which brought the total to 3,247 stores.

The Top 200 Canadian chains continue to grow sales while cautiously growing units by adapting their concepts to meet the needs of today’s Canadian consumer,” says Darren Tristano, EVP at Technomic. “By focusing beyond pricing to key factors such as food quality and freshness, the leading chains have created a new value paradigm that may include premium, organic and local ingredients, as well as better-for-you foods."Tristano also acknowledged that enhanced store interiors, including features such as WiFi, are encouraging customers to linger and connect—ideally with those same chain brands through social media outlets.