RBD - Restaurant Brands

[Snoopy]

"food is not a discretionary item"

correct......but takeaway food is possibly...I would hardly call pizza a necessity.
But I get your point. Shouldn't be hit as hard as retail stocks.

Years ago small rural towns revolved around the local grocery store and the country garage. These days rural folk regularly make trips to the big smoke to stock up on food, and reliability and extended service distances of modern cars (plus the need for a computer to service them) have drvien many rural garages to the wall.

Take a look between the boarded up facades on the main street of rural New Zealand these days and you will find two constants. Every small town, without fail, has its own hairdressing salon and pizza parlour. Coiffure and chips. Welcome to the new definition of 'necessity'.

SNOOPY

[duncan macgregor]

Glad to see you wake up to the reality of constant change SNOOPY. Macdonalds woke up to this fact years ago targeting their market to the very young who demand to be taken there. KFC started off with its secret recipee, which was a great success, but it died of old age, they never changed it. The model A ford was also a great success at that time, but we dont drive them any more. The share market is in constant change so why would you invest in some outdated unwanted product?. You have to learn to move on if Macdonalds dont keep up with constant change they will follow KFC down the gurgler. Macdunk

[Onthemoney]

Okay quarterly announcement soon. I note new Pizza Hut menu - very simplistic and certainly heading in the right direction for the simplistic consumers of their absolute rubbish product.

Anyway I predict more of the same. Same store sales down for Pizza Hut... comments about new menu strategy and new marketing only just kicking in (same comments for past 5 years remember the gourmet range etc and the pizza mutt strategy). We are working hard to turn the brand around. Down 9% on same store level.

KFC continuing growth particularly in refitted stores. Plus 2-3 % on same store level.

Starbucks - static turnover and move to close stores that are bastardising others turnover. No growth.

Talk about increased cost pressure particular with commodity linked products cheese etc. Continual wage pressure etc. Directors and management working hard for the success of the 3 brands.... Well what else would you expect.... We are confident with current strategy in today's difficult environment and are looking forward to a respectable end year result.....

Blah Blah same old I say....

[BRICKS]

Okay quarterly announcement soon. I note new Pizza Hut menu - very simplistic and certainly heading in the right direction for the simplistic consumers of their absolute rubbish product.

Anyway I predict more of the same. Same store sales down for Pizza Hut... comments about new menu strategy and new marketing only just kicking in (same comments for past 5 years remember the gourmet range etc and the pizza mutt strategy). We are working hard to turn the brand around. Down 9% on same store level.

KFC continuing growth particularly in refitted stores. Plus 2-3 % on same store level.

Starbucks - static turnover and move to close stores that are bastardising others turnover. No growth.

Talk about increased cost pressure particular with commodity linked products cheese etc. Continual wage pressure etc. Directors and management working hard for the success of the 3 brands.... Well what else would you expect.... We are confident with current strategy in today's difficult environment and are looking forward to a respectable end year result.....

Blah Blah same old I say....

YER and keep making money for the HOLDERS..

[Stranger_Danger]

Snoopy said :-

"If things go on like this I guess I will just keep buying shares until (eventually) I own the entire company. Then I will close down RBD head office, put the store managers on decent profit share incentive schemes and the company will be away. It should be easy to run the company myself. All I will need is to establish an Auckland presence, even a lease on a bedsitter on the North Shore should suffice! I will keep the forum posted on my 'takeover progress' ;-P."

See, what I can can't figure out is why RBD don't do the above *now*.

I believe that - at some stage - the NZ Pizza stores will be on the market and (just for fun) have asked myself how I would go about turning them around.

If you walk into the stores, it is very hard to spot the manager - the staff are as disinterested as each other.

In certain stores, it is even possible to observe staff taking money from the till while you are waiting for your pizza!

They need to work out how to get the best bits of the franchise model whilst continuing to own the stores. It *is* possible. Clearly, there is no incentive at this stage for anyone to care. In these circumstances, winners resign for greener pastures. Losers remain.

They need a major cleanout - starting at the top.

A business can only treat its customers with contempt for so long.

Anyone tried Kelly, the "new automated ordering system" ? I'm quite sure they'll be calling Kelly new in 10 years time, thus is the general apathy with which the place is run.

Anyone figured out how to ask Kelly for BBQ sauce yet and have it happen reliably? I haven't. Managed to give Kelly a name different to the one they have attached to the phone number? I haven't.

Completely coincidental *cough* with them ironing out the bugs with Kelly, I note answering times in the call centre have gone down *hugely*. Previously, you got a near instant answer.

The last 3 times I have called, twice I gave up on humans and went to Kelly. The last time I gave up all together and called Domino's instead. Twice since then I've gone to Domino's.

I walk to pick up the order. Domino's is twice the distance. I don't think the pizza is better. All that has driven me there is contempt from RBD.

Have the calls go straight to the stores. Fire the loser staff and managers. Provide training and incentives to the potential winners. Introduce profit share contracts that allow potential winner managers to enjoy some of the benefits of franchising (store level control, meaningful share of the proceeds) without the downsides (mortgaging the house when house prices are falling). Continue to own the store. Make the manager own the day to day and make it worth his while.

Create incentive for the manager to engage with the community. Give out pizza slices at local rugby if you have to. You're competing against a big Australian co but you're looking more like a disinterested corporate than they are! Get interested.

Maybe -just maybe - when the chance to renew with YUM comes up, wonder where it is worth it. Where is the value in the Pizza Hut brand? Sure RBD haven't destroyed much of that value? What does Pizza Hut mean? The best pizza? A long call centre wait? What you order when you can't afford to spring for Hell? Hanging up on Kelly?

Perhaps when battling a large AU listed company they could find a way to brand that says "we're kiwi", "we're in your neighbourhood", "our service rules".

Kiwibank has done an A++ job of this.

Of course, talk is cheap - you then gotta back it up. Which takes us back to a flat corporate structure and empowered local managers with incentive.

I *want* to be an RBD customer. I *want* to be an RBD shareholder.

Until there is *some* evidence that this business is not run by a pet rock, I find it hard to be the former and impossible to be the latter.

[Dr_Who]

They need a major cleanout - starting at the top.

Have to agree there.

A complete change on board level. Get rid of Pizza Hut. Put more time and advertising into Starbucks. Continue with existing plan for KFC. Look to bring in a new and exciting chain to NZ.

Now, where can I find enough capital to buy 19.99% of RBD?

[Onthemoney]

RBD used to have the rights to this food franchise in NZ not too sure whether they still do though....

[winner69]

Snoopy ..... that is so so mean of you only offering 61 for the those shares the poor buggers want to sell .... and then did you have a spurt of genrosity and offer to take some for 65

You must be enjoying this

[minimoke]

...and new marketing only just kicking in

Got the mailer in the post today and haven’t figured out yet how to read the secret code. But the lure of winning a pizza to drag me down to the store isn’t a big enough incentive.

[minimoke]

Now, where can I find enough capital to buy 19.99% of RBD?

On their current trajectory you won’t have to wait long before that loose change in your back pocket will do it.