Tim Hortons says sales are way down since lockdown began in Canada
Tim Hortons is taking a financial hit as a result of the pandemic, reporting dwindling sales as fewer Canadians stop by for their usual morning double-double.
The Canadian coffee chain's parent company Restaurant Brands International reported on Friday that sales declined by a percentage in the "high forties" during the last two weeks of March.
By the end of April, those sales declines were in the "high thirties."
Eighty-five percent of Tim Hortons in Canada are currently still open, but only for drive-thru and takeout.
Our restaurants are open and here to serve you, through pick-up, drive-thru and delivery, where available. Thank you to our restaurant owners and team members for their continued commitment to serving our communities and those who serve our communities across Canada. pic.twitter.com/jZHNHbV7u6
— Tim Hortons (@TimHortons) March 26, 2020
"As COVID-19 has spread, most of our guests have put their ordinary routines on pause, and consumption has shifted accordingly," RBI chief executive Jose Cil said, per the Globe and Mail.
He said that lunch and dinner sales are stronger, while breakfast item sales have been disproportionately impacted — likely because Canadians aren't stopping by for a muffin and coffee on their usual route to work or class.
The pandemic has also wreaked havoc on the company's marketing plans; Tim Hortons was in the midst of implementing a "back-to-basics" marketing push when the virus hit Canada in March, complicating the chain's plans to refocus on coffee, doughnuts and breakfast.
Cil says that everyone in the breakfast business has been "impacted heavily" by the lockdown — and the data backs him up. Taco Bell and McDonald's similarly reported a dip in earnings across the U.S., primarily due to struggling breakfast sales.
Conversely, Kellogg's Eggo waffle sales soared by 45 per cent in March as more Americans switched to eating breakfast at home.
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