International Law

Can Tim Horton's Conquer the US?

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Last year at this time, Tim Horton's looked to expand southwards.

"Fourth-quarter profit at Tim Hortons rose 11.5 percent, the coffee and doughnut chain said on Wednesday, as new locations and higher prices more than offset rising costs.

Well known as Tims in Canada, the quick-service restaurant also said it plans a bigger push into the U.S. market in 2008, shrugging off market jitters about weaker consumer spending.

"I see this a great opportunity for the Tim Hortons chain to grow," Chief Executive Paul House said on a conference call.

"Real estate costs are coming off, hopefully building costs will follow, and there's lots of people around that have been, especially in the U.S., displaced out of jobs, that are looking for franchises."

The result a year later, decline in US sales for Tim Horton's:

"Tim Hortons' same-store sales -- or sales at outlets open at least one year -- showed a big difference between Canada and the United States. In Canada, same-store sales grew by 4.4 per cent in the fourth quarter, while they declined by 0.1 per cent in the United States."

Full post as published by Misleading Advertising Law on February 24, 2009 (boomark / email).