Jack in the Box to open 261 new US restaurants , expand into Mexico
Macy ’ s expands network of ‘ mini stores ’ and invests in metaverse
NEWS
Jack in the Box to open 261 new US restaurants , expand into Mexico
Restaurant company Jack in the Box Inc has signed 123 new restaurant commitments for its namesake hamburger chain and another 138 for its Mexican-American QSR chain Del Taco .
During FY23 , the Jack in the Box chain entered four new states – Arkansas , Florida , Montana and Wyoming . The brand has also signed a 22-unit commitment to expand into Mexico .
Meanwhile , Del Taco ’ s new market entries for the year include Texas , Montana and Wyoming .
“ We have developed a strong playbook for how to best open and sustain new market entry , and franchisees interested in partnering with our iconic brands have recognized the potential for whitespace growth and backfilling our current markets ,” said Tim Linderman , chief development officer of Jack in the Box Inc .
“ We ’ ve been on an incredible roll since our development program started in 2021 , and our 2023 results demonstrated that our momentum has continued .”
For the year ended October 1 , the company ’ s total revenues rose to $ 1.69 billion , from $ 1.47 billion last year . Same-store sales of Jack in the Box and Del Taco increased 7.3 percent and 1.7 percent , respectively .
The company currently operates and franchises about 2200 Jack in the Box restaurants across 22 states , and 600 Del Taco locations across 16 states .
Macy ’ s expands network of ‘ mini stores ’ and invests in metaverse
Macy ’ s has announced plans to open 30 more ‘ mini stores ’ in strip centers across the US over the next two years , as it veers outside of the shopping mall .
The stores are approximately one-fifth of the size of a traditional Macy ’ s ; they offer a selective mix of merchandise , host local events , and showcase an updated look .
The retailer has been testing out this smaller store format , initially dubbed Market by Macy ’ s , to a fairly positive response , though the existing stores are being slowly rebranded back to Macy ’ s .
The small-format stores that have been open for more than one fiscal year have posted comparable sales growth on an owned-plus-licenses basis from the beginning of the latest fiscal year , which began in late January and ran through the fiscal second quarter , which ended on July 29 .
Macy ’ s has also teamed up with metaverse technology platform Journee to launch a new digital fashion platform , Mstylelab , an interactive experience for users to explore a virtual world for the company ’ s newest brand , On 34th .
However , Steve Dennis , president and founder of SageBerry Consulting , a firm that provides strategic advisory services to the retail , fashion , and luxury industries , thinks the retailer ’ s attempt to reinvent itself may be coming a bit late to provide much help .
“ Given the dramatic loss of market share to ‘ off-the mall ’ competition that Macy ’ s has experienced for many , many years , at one level , pursuing a strategy of moving to where the customers are makes sense . The issue is that it ’ s almost certainly too little , too late to be meaningful ,” Dennis told Inside Retail .
“ Off-price brands like T . J . Maxx and specialty beauty players like Ulta and Sephora offer superior value propositions . It ’ s unclear how a shrunken-down Macy ’ s format delivers enough differentiation that it ’ s likely to claw back substantial market share , rather than merely transfer sales from existing mallbased locations . Sadly , this is what we see time and time again from legacy brands that mostly watched the last 20 years happen to them .
12 www . insideretail . us December 2023