You first posted on this thread at 2:35pm as a call centre worker and four hours later you have already been sacked? I guess there aren't too many employees at the PH Call Centre wasting time on the internet then !? ;-P
SNOOPY
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RBD moved their new HQ during FY2006-2007. The date of September 2006 sticks in my memory from something said at the last AGM. But that memory may be faulty.
I am imagining some kind of palace from your description Mysterybox, with glass elevators reaching for the stars! They have a separate wing for each of KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks? Perhaps that explains why their General and Administrative expenses dropped only $0.1m (around 1%) when the move was made to the new 'low cost site'.Quote:
You're correct, the floor plan is open and all managers/workers/team leaders work near each other, the offices (higher staff) are close also (same floor), the office circles around a centrepoint (lifts in the middle) with various teams located on either the north/south/east side (west = break room) oh and one small training area on the west.
Work conditions/atmosphere are excellent and the management/higher staff are always friendly, everyone knows everyone by name.
One question: Approximately how many "higher staff" (as you put it) are there at HQ? Do they all have secretarial support?
Mysterybox, do I detect you may be just slightly overqualified to be a 'career call centre person'? Perhaps you have some opinion on how well the office layout works for cross fertilization of ideas between the three company divisions? Does it actually work having three what some may see as reasonably disparate businesses (KFC, PH and SB) under the single 'RBD umbrella'?Quote:
I did a study on the callcentre operation as part of my management paper so I know a lot about the systems/efficiencies etc, I can imagine it would work very efficiently; the systems are well in place and the user interface is easy to adapt/work with.
SNOOPY
mysterybox would you like the Egyptian rates of pay
THINK Mr Mysterybox has had a burnout or his BOSS has got to HIM..
This is a very common thing with RBD. There have been several instances in the past where the "tossed salal" (coleslaw) has contained the additive ingrediant in your mayo to give it some extra spice. So what you are alluding to is very common. in fact testing done at peppermints inside the VIP room at SKC showed
similar traces and have since have wrapping over them
Hi utopian, can you further explain your logic?
You have just told us that this private company Phisci has 1.3% of RBD shares and wishes to acquire 23.5% of the company. Phisci will have to make a partial takeover bid to do that. Yet you still expect the RBD share price to fall???? What have I missed?
SNOOPY
discl: hold RBD
An interesting change in tone I detect from reading the RBD annual report today.
From the Chairmans report on page 9:
"the company's ability (is) to leverage off good brands- the essence of what Restaurant Brands is about - and confirms that the group is first and foremost a brand manager *not restricted or inhibited by its current brand portfolio.*" (my emphasis)
Later on page 9
"Directors will continue to review Pizza Hut's future and take whatever steps necessary to protect future *group* growth and profitability." (my emphasis)
Then on page 10
"*Directors and management will be redoubling their efforts to ensure it (Pizza Hut) ceases to be a drain on the group*. The directors will not shy away from making firm decisions over Pizza Hut in the interests of overall group profitability." (Chairman's emphasis)
Now we move on to page 13 and the CEO's report
"The bulk of Pizza hut stores come up for renewal in 2010and we are working with YUM restaurants international (the Pizza Hut and KFC franchisor) on renewal terms for the franchises on these stores."
Perhaps I am drawing a long bow here....
But reading between the lines I would suggest the 'corporate pizza cutter' has been taken out of Chairman Van Arkel's desk. And the blade is being sharpened for an FY2010 deadline!
Also in late paging news (page 64) former CEO Vicky Salmon has sold all of her shares in the company, at a significant loss.....
SNOOPY
discl: hold RBD
VICKY did not sell her shares at a significant loss. SHE GOT THEM FOR NOTHING FROM YOU MUGS. Look at all those dividends along the way all extra payment on top of a massive salary for running the company into the ground. If she had a significant loss what have the mug investors still in got?. Macdunk
Snoopy, could RBD just be upping the ante to secure more favourable franchise terms for pizza hutt when it comes time to renew the agreement in 2010?
I hope so Steve! RBD have been pretty weak negotiating with YUM before I think. Partly their own fault through using the KFC franchise as a cash cow to fund other expansions while neglecting KFC franchise development in its own right in New Zealand. This has been turned around with the KFC refurbishment program showing promise. Hopefully that will also strengthen RBDs negotiating position!
Pizza Hut in New Zealand is not alone in being a 'problem child'. YUM have recently taken back fully in house their Pizza Hut business in the UK, after reacquiring the 50% they didn't own by buying out their joint venture partner. It is YUM's intention to refranchise 300+ of these 500+ stores when market conditions permit.
In the US, Pizza Hut is (in market share terms) much weaker in the Pizza market than KFC is in the chicken meal market and Taco Bell is in the Mexican restaurant market. YUM are trying an interesting dual brand strategy with Pizza Hut in the US by launching 'Wingstreet' , a boneless and boned chicken wing and sauce offering that is projected by the end of 2009 to be America's largest wing chain.
YUM's strategy when deciding whether to own a store outright or on sell it as a franchise is as follows:
"If we can run our stores well and provide great returns for our shareholders , we'll own the restaurants ourselves. If our company operations are not getting margins that well exceed our cost of capital, we'll sell our restaurants to franchisees who can do a better job of running them." (page 7 YUM 2007 Annual Report)
then they go on to say
"We will be taking total US ownership down from 22% to possibly less than 10% by owning fewer Pizza Huts, KFCs.."
You can read into that how well Pizza Hut in the first world is doing in general. Of course in China, Pizza Hut is going great guns.
SNOOPY
discl: Hold RBD, YUM (U.S.)
A small but significant thumbs up for RBD on Fair Go tonight.
Their corporate response to the effective wage rates being paid by a third party to those "contractors" that distribute RBD flyers on their behalf was top notch. A good many other corporate citizens declined to comment, which won't do them any favours in the short term.
disc - normally don't have much time for Fair Go as they tend to sensationalise a good number of their stories, but IMHO this one struck the right note.
RBD has pick up in the last week to 87 cents and still CUM DIV, BRICKS is contemplating going to this years Annual meeting if they would state where its to be Held but over all now with the departure of Mr Chips Co, RBD is the only place to Sell them CHIPS..
Interesting to see that they have made note of the contraction in retail spending, which is continuing to decrease...
The decrease in sales is because of the closure of several Pizza Hut outlets. On a per store basis RBD sales are still increasing. OK the increase isn't great, and much (all?) of it is probably due to inflation. Nevertheless in relative terms, RBD is performing better than most retailers. Can you name a better performing NZX retail share this year? Off the top of my head I can't. Shareholders are getting an apparently sustainable yield of 11% gross and the share price has climbed back to the 87c or thereabouts it was at the start of the the year.
I'm not saying it is all plain sailing from here. Like most (all?) retailers, RBD still has issues. Overall I think the food sector will suffer less than many others. While top line restaurants might have a hard time the hard wiring of the 'convenience food culture' coupled with the surprising number of people that don't know how to cook means that turnover at the cheaper end of the restaurant trade is safe. Safe doesn't mean I'm predicting a quick further recovery in share price to $1. Nevertheless for the investor that values dividend income and wants a significant boost over what the bank might give them, I think they would be hard pressed to argue for 'no RBD' in the portfolio starting from this point.
SNOOPY
discl: hold RBD
I usually don't post in the RBD thread, but I've been following the company a little bit in recent years as well as the pizza market in NZ after having followed it in North America for some time.
It's my understanding that the pizza business in North America was always considered to be somewhat recession proof with enough room for national franchised low cost players(Dominos, Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, and Little Cesaers), national gourmet players(California Pizza Kitcken, Bertuccis), regional franchise players, and privately owned units.
In my opinion, the NZ pizza industry has gone from being quite under-developed as little as 5 years ago, to becoming quite competitive quite quickly with the existing Pizza Hut chain, Dominos very rapid expansion, rapid expansion of Hell Pizza on the higher end of the pizza food chain, and the entry of low cost private players like Big Pizza.
The serious concern I would have as an investor in RBD's Pizza Hut business is that profitability at the franchisee level is probably quite poor at the moment for the following reasons:
1.) Cheese prices...even bulk purchasing and hedging by a franchisor present a real problem.
2.) Rent...retail rents are only going in one direction.
3.) Staff...increased minimum wage, very low unemployment.
4.) Competition...market has gone from underserved to excess capacity in many regions eliminating any retail pricing power Pizza Hut once had when they were the only big player in the market.
Anecdotally, there are quite a few Dominos and Hells Pizza units for resale in a couple of the bigger markets.....if biz were that good, owners wouldn't be looking to leave.
It's analogous to the Subway franchise system..........Subway is very successful in NZ, but the franchisor has a habit around the world of putting Subways on every corner......increasing overall franchise system sales, but lowering average franchisee unit sales. When Subway opened in NZ, you had to pay BIG money to buy a resale unit......now that Subways are nearly everywhere, buying one isn't so expensive anymore.
And while looking at things from the coal-face franchisee's perspective may not be analogous to looking at thngs from RBD's perspective, those that ignore it for too long, do so at their peril.
Just my opinion on the Pizza Hut portion of the RBD business....I suspect Pizza Hut is going to get worse before, if ever, it gets better.
I made a jumbo sized pizza myself last week complete with mozarella cheese as part of the topping. The 100g of cheese I used on its own cost more than $6, just to do a single pizza!
Yes I agree, although if there is a bit of a retail downturn it might help in renegotiating some of those Pizza Hut delco leases. The largest number of Pizza Hut franchise ten year renewals happen in 2010. I have no idea if the actual shop leases contracts correspond to the franchise renewal dates though. But if management were any good, they should.Quote:
2.) Rent...retail rents are only going in one direction.
Yes, Pizza Hut isn't the only one 'feeling the competition'.Quote:
3.) Staff...increased minimum wage, very low unemployment.
4.) Competition...market has gone from underserved to excess capacity in many regions eliminating any retail pricing power Pizza Hut once had when they were the only big player in the market.
Anecdotally, there are quite a few Dominos and Hells Pizza units for resale in a couple of the bigger markets.....if biz were that good, owners wouldn't be looking to leave.
It is analagous. RBD are the franchiseeQuote:
And while looking at things from the coal-face franchisee's perspective may not be analogous to looking at thngs from RBD's perspective,....
SNOOPY