VANCOUVER — A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. and the A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund have released fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2018 (ended Dec. 31, 2018) and conducted a conference call to discuss the results on February 13.
Financial results revealed Q4 2018 to be another strong quarter for the company, with same-store sales up 12.3 per cent and same-store sales growth for the year up 9.8 per cent. The company also achieved same-store sales growth across all provinces and concepts.
“We are very pleased by the positive sales performance achieved in 2018. Our successful focus on innovation and quality ingredients, along with continued efforts to consistently deliver great food and a better guest experience, in combination with reimage progress, is contributing to winning guest visits and building loyalty,” said Susan Senecal, president and CEO of A&W Food Services. “With rapid growth of new locations — 42 restaurants opened in 2018 — and industry leading innovation, A&W’s brand positioning is strong.”
Further highlighting the chain’s growth, Senecal noted that 32 of the restaurants opened in 2018 were located in Ontario and Quebec, while 10 of the new restaurants featured the brand’s urban-concept design. “Our pipeline of new restaurants under development is strong,” she added. “As of Dec. 31, 2018, an additional 66 new restaurants were under construction or in various stages of permitting and are expected to open in the coming months.”
Senecal pointed to recent innovations, such as partnership with UberEats, changes to its satisfaction-measurement feedback system, the company’s switch to 100-per-cent real cheese and the launch of the Beyond Meat Burger, as key drivers of the A&W Food Services’ positive 2018 results.
“One of the drivers behind our sales growth is our innovation with high-quality ingredients that guests can feel good about. A&W continues to redefine what Canadians can expect from a quick-service restaurant by giving them great-tasting food made with care from quality ingredients,” Senical said. “[By] building one innovation on top of the other…people start to be attracted by one or the other of the [menu] changes, which all adds up to more guests in our restaurant.”
